83 



thing ornamental and not too expensive is desired. The 

 cloth is excellent for screens. 



In a number of schools experiments have been made to 

 determine the suitability of buri raffia for various articles. 

 Slippers with abaca soles and buri raffia uppers have been 

 tried. The raffia in a macrame weave has been utilized for 

 bags and cushions. Attempts have been made to crochet 

 buri raffia for doilies. 



It might also be well to try out buri raffia for table covers, 

 screens, piano scarfs, and other articles intended for sum- 

 mer use in country houses in the United States. 



In the Philippines, the raffia is also occasionally woven 

 into hats. 



Calasiao hats. — The principal use of Calasiao strips is 

 for hats. These are woven chiefly in Calasiao, Pangasinan, 

 and are known in Manila by the name of the town of their 

 principal manufacture. In the Visayas, they are more gen- 

 erally called Pototan hats, as Pototan, Iloilo, makes them 

 in large quantities. The hats are always made in the close 

 weave and can generally be distinguished from other Philip- 

 pine hats by the liberal quantity of rice powder with which 

 they are covered. Calasiao strips bleach fairly easily and 

 hold their color well. The hats have a rather dull appear- 

 ance, and in this they differ from the "close weave" buntal 

 and rattan hats with their silky or glossy surface. In the 

 medium and poor grades of Calasiao hats a few light-brown 

 strands occur in the weave which are due to the fact that 

 less care has been exercised in selecting the midribs which 

 are not all of the same shade. The Calasiao hats are more 

 expensive than those made of bamboo and at the same time 

 are better not only in appearance, but also in wearing qual- 

 ities, as the strips are more pliable and do not break as 

 easily as bamboo strips do. Occasionally Calasiao strips 

 are woven into hats in combination with nito strips. 



Tobacco cases. — In Pangasinan and some towns in the 

 Visayas, very fine Calasiao strips either alone or inter- 

 woven with nito strips are made into very pretty tobacco 

 cases — small ones for cigarettes and large ones for cigars. 

 The majority of these cases are very dainty and well made, 

 and if not priced too high find a ready sale in local markets. 



