FIREWOOD 111 
MANGROVE-SWAMP FIREWOOD 
The demand for fuel in the Philippines, excepting in the case 
of transportation companies and manufacturing plants, is met 
almost entirely by the use of firewood, as up to the present time 
comparatively little coal has been mined in the Archipelago and 
most of the supply comes from Japan. The coal industry in the 
Philippines is being developed, and 3,200 tons were mined in 
1917.; The demand for fuel in a tropical country, such as the 
Philippines, is not nearly so great as in a temperate region; 
nevertheless, there is a large demand for domestic purposes, such 
as cooking, washing, etc., and for the smaller industries. 
The most highly prized firewood is furnished by various 
species of mangrove-swamp trees. However, the available, ac- 
cessible supply of these is not great enough to satisfy the demand 
and dry-land species have to be substituted. The amount of 
firewood of both classes on which taxes were paid in the Archi- 
pelago from 1914 to 1918, inclusive, is given in Table XIX. 
TABLE XIX.—Amount of firewood on which taxes were paid in the Philip- 
pine Islands from 1914 to 1918. 
Man- 
Year. grove Dey Jana 
species. | SP Be 








cu. m. | cu m. | 
AO As ee Se oe oe we eae Sree oa ete ees as Soke ea es dees ceos sueeeoes 28,120 | 188, 274 
AT I] Fy ee eee cs eR es a ee ee Se Sa a Sa ae ne Sack Seen eo eecaeace 70,427 | 142,814 
BLO] Gee ee ee a ee Se ee ee ease Sawa eee ee ee wees eee 97,856 | 194, 480 
OT eee re ee he en oe ee es ME Soe ee ce eco eee 130, 472 | 277, 224 
AO] eee ae ne ee re Se eee ee ere ae eS ee Se a ee eee es pakeeeea se 134, 481 | 588, 109 

From this table, it will be seen that during each successive year 
the amount of mangrove-swamp wood used has been greatly 
increased and that there has been a corresponding increase in 
the dry-land species; and further, that in every case the amount 
of the dry-land species was each year more than twice as great 
as that of mangrove species. The figures in Table XIX show 
that the firewood business in the Philippine Islands is one of 
considerable proportions. 
An extensive study of mangrove-swamp ade has been made 
by Cox.* In Table XX are given the results of analyses and 


+ Cox, Alvin J., Annual Report of the Director, Bureau of Science, for 
1918. 
* Cox, Alvin J., Philippine firewood, Philippine Journal of Science, Sec. 
A, Vol. 6 (1911), page 1. 
* Cox, Alvin J., Philippine fuels, Bureau of Science Press Bulletin 
No. 86. 
