85 



Lucban hats are light, pliable, durable, and very neat in 

 appearance. The finest grade of the Baliuag buntal hat 

 has a beautiful sheen, is exquisite in workmanship, and 

 the peer of any straw hat made. It is too light to afford 

 sufficient protection from the rays of a tropical sun at mid- 

 day, but is excellent for evening or for summer wear in 

 temperate regions. 



Buntal baskets, hats, and tobacco cases. — Buntal fibers 

 are used as a weaver for both body and rims of small 

 baskets and for rims only of large baskets. They also 

 serve well for pretty cigar and cigarette cases. 



Rope and brooms. — The whole petiole is sometimes 

 pounded and the fibers are extracted and made into rope. 

 The rope is strong, but the use of the material for such 

 purpose ought not to be encouraged as finer and more remu- 

 nerative articles can be made from buntal. The fibers are 

 also utilized at times for making floor or whisk brooms. 

 These floor brooms are for sale in a number of Chinese 

 stores in Manila. It would not seem advisable, however, to 

 encourage in schools the making of a cheap article from a 

 fine fiber. 



Buri splints. — Splints obtained from the petiole of the 

 buri palm are not as satisfactory in basketry as those from 

 other palms, but they can be utilized. 



SAGUISE PALM. 



(Heterospathe elata.) 



Sagise, seguise (Bohol) ; taguisi (Albay). Collected also by B. of S. 

 in Cagayan, Camarines, Cebu, Laguna, Mindoro, Zamboanga. 



This species of palm is widely distributed throughout the 

 Islands, but has so far been reported to the Bureau of Edu- 

 cation only from Bohol and Albay. The compound leaves 

 are about 4 m. long; the petioles 1.5 m. in length. The 

 palm resembles dumayaca, but the petiole is more deeply 

 grooved. On each side of the petiole there are about 70 

 leaflets. 



The division superintendent of schools for Bohol reports 

 that this palm is used for hats. The petiole yields a mate- 

 rial white in color, good for weavers, but not for spokes. 



