164 PHILIPPINE PALMS 
by the inhabitants of rattan-producing localities for domestic 
purposes (this being by law free from forest charges), while a 
considerable proportion of that cut for commercial purposes es- 
capes the payment of taxes. The annual amount on which forest 
charges were paid for a series of years is given in Table lI. 
Arnold * has written a lengthy discussion of the supply of rat- 
tans, from which much of the following data is taken. 
TABLE I.—Amount of rattan on which forest charges were paid from 
LTS bOPLILS: 

Unsplit rattan. 
Year. Split rattan. Pa. ; i: ae 
Over2cm.in 2 cm.or less 
diameter. in diameter. 
Kilograms. Linear meters. Linear meters. 

1914.2 Sosa oso ee eee Ec 3, 316, 925 | 1, 360, 664 9, 054, 343 
1915 222 22 ek 9, ae ee sa 3, 733, 918 1, 041, 238 19, 008, 440 
1916 22-4 2 Bisse ee ee ee 3, 112, 126 1, 884, 679 20, 930, 522 
W919 8 cok oo a See 4, 606, 310 2, 824, 473 13, 468, 264 
1918'S 2S. 2 Sean eee a ee aoe eS 7, 920, 066 3, 631, 849 10, 066,058 | 
= - — ———— = — - ——i 


The returns for each year are given by provinces, and these 
figures make it possible to get some idea of the localities from 
which the larger amounts of rattan are obtained. Table II, 
taken from Arnold, gives the average production for the five 
fiscal years 1909 to 1913, inclusive. While the amount of rat- 
tan given is much too small, the figures for the more thickly 
settled provinces give some idea of the relative amounts avail- 
able. This does not apply to Palawan, the Moro Province, 
Nueva Vizcaya, or Mindoro, since these provinces are sparsely 
inhabited and the cutting is done by uncivilized and partly 
unsettled tribes; nor does it apply exactly to other provinces, 
as questions of labor organization and transportation have to 
be taken into consideration, and especially as the best commer- 
cial rattan is in the virgin forest which may not be easily ac- 
cessible from the towns. The heaviest production is shown by 
the provinces of Ambos Camarines, Sorsogon, Tayabas, Occi- 
dental and Oriental Negros, Cagayan, Samar, Mindoro, Albay, 
Zambales, Leyte, and La Union. 

* Arnold, J. R., Rattan supply of the Philippines. Bureau of Foreign 
and Domestic Commerce, Department of Commerce. Special Agents Series 
No. 95 (1915), pages 3 to 23. 
