596 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS 



up the income per tree to some 6/- to 8/-, or, say 

 15 per acre for 25 to 40 years. The tree seldom 

 exceeds 18 metres (60 ft.) in height. It grows, however, 

 at all altitudes up to 1,500 feet. In the forest they do 

 not average more than one tree to every five acres. In 

 some regions, such as Ambos Camarines, Albay, and 

 Sorsogon, it is very easy for native collectors to bring 

 in one sack of nuts per day. The nuts are worth from 

 id. to 2d. per Ib. locally. About 900 tons were shipped 

 from Manila in 1913, most of the material being handled 

 by five export companies. The average f.o.b. price in 

 Manila is about 10 per ton. 



Lumbang. Two species of wild or semi-cultivated 

 trees in the Philippines produce this nut, sometimes 

 known as candle-nut and frequently exported from 

 Mindanao as Biao. Aleurites trisperma (" Balukanad ") 

 appears to be largely confined to the Philippine Archi- 

 pelago; A. moluccana, or true lumbang, is wild or 

 semi-cultivated both in the Davao district of Mindanao 

 and in southern Luzon. The nuts of the two species 

 are very similar both in appearance and properties and 

 the oil of both closely resembles that of the Chinese 

 Tung, or wood oil tree (A. Fordii). Most of the lum- 

 bang is used locally by Chinese dealers in Manila in the 

 manufacture of soap and in painting cascos, small boats, 

 and lighters to waterproof them, and also for preserving 

 timbers intended for use in water. Estimates of the 

 local consumption of lumbang vary widely; it is 

 probable, however, that not more than 50 tons per year 

 are handled in Philippine markets. The local value is 5 

 to 8 pesos per picul, say, 8 to 12 per ton. Two or three 

 grades of oil are produced from the kernels, one being 

 used to a small extent in the preparation of paints. The 

 hard shells are removed by women and children and the 

 kernels are then dried in the sun as in the case of copra. 

 In Cavite three grades of the kernels are recognized, 

 the third quality being largely composed of small pieces, 

 more or less rancid kernels, and a certain amount of 

 shell particles. Recent interest in lumbang is causing 

 a few planters to experiment with it as a secondary 

 crop on coconut plantations. Some authorities claim 



