200 PHILIPPINE PALMS 
ippines as saguran, daet, banlo, bayokbok, and hubiuk fiber. 
This fiber is stripped from the outer part of the petiole. The 
material from the upper surface is stronger than that from 
the lower, but not so fine in texture. The stripping must be 
done not only from young, unopened leaves, but also within a 
short time after the leaves are removed from the palm. This 
fiber is the same as the agel fiber of the Dutch East Indies, that 
is quite extensively produced in southern Celebes and there com- 
mands a price of from 4 to 8 guilders per picul. It is much 
used there for making fine matting.* This material is now 
quite widely employed in the industrial work of the Philippine 
schools for all purposes for which true raffia fiber is used. 
Comparative tensile-strength tests, made by Saleeby + on raffia 
fiber from Madagascar and the Philippine product of Corypha 
elata, showed that the true raffia was about 30 per cent stronger 
than the buri product, but that the latter was superior in color, 
fineness and lustre. This material was formerly used in many 
parts of the Philippines for weaving cloth. The cloth varies 
greatly in fineness, is not especially durable, yet in some parts 
of the Islands is still used for clothing. The material readily 
takes colors and is excellent for making cushion covers, screens, 
bags, coiled baskets, etc. 
From the ribs of the unopened leaves important fibers are 
secured that are used for the manufacture of the Calasiao or 
Pototan hats, so called from the two towns where this type 
of hat originated, Calasiao in Pangasinan Province, Luzon, and 
Pototan in Panay. The ribs are removed from the leaf, graded 
as to color, split, the softer interior removed, and the halves 
again split once or twice. The strands thus produced are 
smoothed, worked down to the required thickness, and are then 
ready for weaving. Hats made of this material have a well- 
deserved reputation for appearance and durability. Fine bas- 
kets, trays, cigarette cases, etc., are also manufactured from 
this material. Sometimes the entire ribs are used for making 
coarse brooms. 
In many parts of the Philippines the leafstalks are gathered, 
thoroughly pounded or crushed, and the vascular strands re- 
moved for the purpose of manufacturing cordage. The fibers 

* See Heyne, De Nuttige Planten van Nederlandsch-Indié, Volume I 
(1913), page 41. 
+ Philippine Agricultural Review, Volume 6 (1913), page 192; Philip- 
pine Craftsman, Volume 2 (1913), page 422. 
