28 FARMERS' BULLETIN. 



means for obtaining them are improved they will take their place as one 

 of the articles of export. To the Filipinos they are almost all very useful. 

 Both the cane and the body are extensively used in the manufacture of I 

 furniture, baskets, and mats. The vine entire is used for ropes, draw lines 

 for ferry rafts, walking sticks, and for numerous other purposes. The 

 cane used for seating chairs, beds, and the like is the outside hard and 

 resistent portion stripped off. These strips are inelastic, though very 

 pliable, but care must be taken in bending or tying them that the smooth 

 outside be on the convex, otherwise they will break easily. Because of 

 their inelasticity they are very useful for lashings, especially in the con- 

 struction of houses. In Negros and Panay they are extensively used for 

 binding bags of sugar, cacao, and copra. 



Rattan will probably always remain a product of the forest, for, from 

 the nature of the plant's growth, tall trees are required for it to run upon. 

 Advantage will result, however, from training them upon the trees so 

 that they will not become cramped and crooked. 



The most useful species at the present time found in the Philippines 

 is Daemonorops melanochaetes Blume. While this does not produce 

 the finest canes, yet they serve the greatest number of purposes, and the 

 plant entire is most commonly used for draw lines for ferry rafts. The 

 flowers produce a nectar f ro ^ which the bees render a superior grade 

 of honey. 



CONCLUSION. 



In the rich vegetation of the Philippines many fiber-producing plants 

 occur, the fiber of which is of local use and importance, but whose prop- 

 erties have not been brought to the notice of buyers and consumers. In 

 determining the value of a fiber for economic and commercial purposes 

 the question need not be carried further than the determination whether 

 the new fiber can be used as a substitute for any of the well known com- 

 mercial fibers or whether some new economic use can be established for it. 

 If these considerations are established, then the demand will in time regu- 

 late the questions of production and extraction. The world's present 

 demand for fibers is supplied from only about forty species of plants, and 

 while some of these are less valuable from the standpoint of strength and 

 durability than some less commonly known ones, yet their use has become 

 established and machines and methods have been adapted to their manu- 

 facture. Against these, new fibers must compete though superior utility 

 may be in their favor. 



Among the little known fibers of the Philippines which are of high 

 quality and promising value may be mentioned the Eruc from Corypha 

 urens, which is a strong fiber, nonresistant in water, the bow-string hemp, 

 similar to sisal, and fibers from the species of Hibiscus. Investigations 

 of these and other economic species are now under way, and it is expected 

 that their value and utility may be more fully established. 



