340 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1945 



Conditions in Davao were by no means ideal for work of this char- 

 acter. In 1925 the abaca plantations were widely separated over a 

 large area on both sides of the Gulf of Davao, which is about 90 miles 

 long, and there were but few miles of road in the entire province. 

 No one of the plantations or districts had all the varieties that it was 

 desirable to obtain, and it was essential that the collection be brought 

 together and prepared at one place. The site finally selected for this 

 work was the Culaman Plantation Co. in the municipality of Malita 

 on the southwestern coast of the Gulf of Davao. A small number of 

 plants of the varieties Libuton, Tangongan, and Sinaba, that had been 

 collected in other localities, were sent to Malita. 



On arrival at Malita a survey was made of the different areas from 

 which it was proposed to obtain plant material. No evidence was 

 found of abaca diseases, but in the older fields most of the abaca, 

 rhizomes were badly infested with root borers and it was evident that 

 great care would have to be taken in the preparation of this material. 

 This involved a careful examination of each rhizome and the cutting 

 out of all sections where root borers were found. It was somewhat 

 doubtful how many of the rhizomes would survive this heroic treat- 

 ment, which was to be followed by the long period of storage during 

 shipment across the Pacific. For this reason it was considered ad- 

 visable to prepare a collection of growing plants. During June and 

 July some 400 rhizomes, suckers, and buds were planted in a miscel- 

 laneous assortment of all the old oil cans and boxes that could be 

 found on the plantation. Although more than one-half of the crated 

 rhizomes were alive when the shipment reached Panama, the grow- 

 ing plants furnished the bulk of the planting material. The limited 

 supply of packing material available on the plantation included ex- 

 celsior, old newspapers, and small quantities of sphagnum and char- 

 coal. All these materials were used in different methods of packing 

 the rhizomes, and in addition 3 tins of seeds were packed in charcoal, 

 and several bunches of fruit containing seeds were shipped in cold 

 storage. The shipment when finally completed included 1,438 items 

 of plant material, packed in 279 containers, and represented 6 differ- 

 ent varieties of abaca. 



ACROSS THE PACIFIC 



Malita is an open roadstead and has no docking facilities for large 

 ships. For several days before the arrival of the Ethan Allen there 

 were indications of stormy weather, which would have entirely dis- 

 rupted the plans for loading this shipment of plants. August 21 was 

 a fine day, however, and the Ethan Allen arrived with a lighter in the 

 early morning. The loading of the 190 heavy boxes and cans of 

 growing plants from the small plantation dock to the lighter and 



