80 



ANNIVERSARY NUMBER 1919 



equipment, etc. Stumpage is paid for as 

 cut at the following rates: 



TYPE OF COMBAT PLANK PROPELLERS OF TANGUILE 

 USED BY THE NAVY DEPARTMENT 



The principal woods exported have been 

 tangile, red lauans and the various lighter 

 colored lauans. The best grades have been 

 used for high class interior trim in houses, 

 furniture and cabinet work, especially in 

 piano and phonograph cases, while, soon after 

 war was declared, tangile was tested for 

 aeroplane propeller blades and accepted by 

 the Navy Department. 



The Philippine Islands contain approxi- 

 mately 40,000 square miles of virgin forests 

 with stands of from 15,000 to 35,000 board 

 feet per acre; stands of from 45,000 to 65,000 

 board feet are not infrequent at elevations 

 between 1,000 to 1,800 feet above sea level. 

 About 20,000 square miles in addition are 

 covered with forest, but are classed by the 

 Bureau of Forestry as non-commercial, as 

 the stand does not average over 2,000 to 

 3,000 board feet per acre. Over 99% of all 

 the timber is the property of the Government 

 and is administered by the Bueau of Fores- 

 try under a system of licenses granted for 

 from 1 to 20 years duration, with renewal 

 privileges. The long-term license agree- 

 ments (or concessions, as- they are popularly 

 called), are only granted under certain con- 

 ditions which specify the amount of capital 

 to be invested, the minimum cut during sev- 

 eral succeeding years, together with certain 

 requirements as to logging and manufacturing 



First group 

 Second group 

 Third group - 

 Fourth group 



Per 



f 



1.000 

 10.00 

 6.00 

 4.00 

 2.00 



The bulk of the cut of lumber at the saw- 

 mills (about 90 per cent, is of the third and 

 fourth group. It is readily seen that stump- 

 age is comparatively cheap. A big advan- 

 tage to Philippine lumbermen is that stump- 

 age does not have to be paid for until cut, 

 thus obviating a big investment in stumpage 

 before manufacturing can proceed. Long 

 term license agreements generally cover an 

 area of from 10 to 300 square miles, generally 

 on tide water. 



Philippine forests contain wood from the 

 lightest daluro (air roots of Pagatpat) used 

 as cord substitute, to one of the heaviest 

 woods in the world, mancono (80 pounds 

 per cubic feet), and from pines similar to the 

 yellow pine of the Southern States to the 

 finest cabinet woods. The forests are the 

 greatest single natural resource in the con- 

 trol of the Government and this vast supply 

 of useful woods, when known to the people 

 of the United States, should produce a steady 

 demand, as the Philippine Islands the only 

 place in the tropical world where the lumber 

 industry has been developed to a stage such 

 that it can supply a steady and considerable 

 demand. 



In conjunction with the extraction of lum- 

 ber the so-called minor forest products, such 

 as gum copal, rattan, dyewood and dyebarks, 

 tanning extracts, gutta-percha, Manila elemi, 

 wood oils soap barks, fiber plants, pili nuts, 

 nuts, beeswax, medicinal plants and orchids, 

 attain quite sizable proportions in not only 

 local consumption but export as well, as can 

 be seen from the following tables of export: 



1918 



1917 



1916 



Total... 517,487 



546,138 



498,608 



A TANGUILE MILL AND LOG PILE 



Climate 



(Continued from page 66) 

 is nearly always a breeze. It is said of 

 Manila that at any time of the day or night, 

 if one can get between a door and a window, 

 comfort can be found, and this is nearly correct. 



There is much data to substantiate the 

 claim that the climate of the Philippines has 

 certain peculiar results upon the general 

 tone of the system and the predisposition 

 to certain diseases. Two things may ac- 

 count for all of these phenomena. The 

 "tropical diseases," so called, are the result 

 of the presence of disease germs peculiar to 

 the Tropics, and therefore infecting res- 

 idents, but wholly independent of the cli- 

 mate itself. Immunity from these germs 

 is being constantly increased and the climate 

 cleared of the charges of producing the diseases. 



The other and more serious charge is that 

 long residence in the Islands causes a gene- 

 ral loss of tone and letting down of the sys- 

 tem that results in weakened ambition, 

 faulty memory, and general sluggishness. 

 So far as this is true, it is not due to any poi- 

 son in the climate, but do the lack of a harden- 

 ing cold season, when nature toughens up 

 the entire system to withstand the increased 

 exposure. It is also true that under the very 

 favorable conditions all the year around, 

 children grow faster and mature younger 

 than in countries where four or five months 

 of the year are so rigorous that the latent 

 resources of the child are kept busy pre- 

 serving life and health without doing much 

 growing. Obviously, this feature of the 

 case has both good and bad results. 



It is emphatically true that most of this 

 "untoning" effect of the Tropics may be 

 counteracted by the maintenance of sys- 

 tematic and vigorous exercise. Where it 

 is so comfortable to sit still, the tendency is 

 to court the favorite book and shady nook 

 in the leisure hours, when the far greater 

 need is for a swim, a walk, or a game of golf 

 or tennis. As a matter of common observa- 

 tion, people who lead active lives enjoy good 

 health, and have no complaints to make 

 concerning the climate. 



Anybody, except an outdoor day laborer, 

 can so arrange his program as to keep well 

 and be comfortable in the Philippines. That 

 is, he may keep as well and be as comfort- 

 able as in any other country inhabited by the 

 men who come to the Tropics. Since the 

 American soldiers have learned the ins and 

 outs of the dietetic and climatic conditions, 

 they have enjoyed as good health in the 

 Philippines as in the United States. 



Death is almost an unknown visitor among 

 the Americans in the Islands. Part of this 

 is due to the excellent precautions taken 

 against such diseases as are liable to prevail, 

 mainly owing to the fact that none but young 

 and vigorous men come here. But allowing 

 for all things, the fact remains that the aver- 

 age health of the Americans in the Islands 

 is good. 



A distinguished visitor to Manila remarked 

 that of all tropical countries none afforded 

 an atmosphere like that of the Philippines. 

 "This air," he said, "has about it a caress," 

 a soothing quality, that comforts and rests 

 one after the day's work." 



This same quality has been noticed by 

 many persons, and could easily be lauded 

 as some magic quality that lent a superhu- 

 man power to the climate. The facts are, 

 however, that this genuine charm is due to 

 just the right proportions of moisture and 

 temperature in air that is free from im- 

 purities or extremes of stagnation or high 

 winds. These qualities would produce a 

 charm anywhere at any time, but the trou- 

 ble is that just these ingredients are not 

 elsewhere to be found, and so far no one has 

 been able to artificially .manufacture them. 

 If the visitor wants to enjoy them, he will 

 have to come to Manila to find them. 



