480 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



October 



ful specimens of narra. .The piano in 

 the Administration Building is also built 

 of narra wood. 



In my former article narra was called 

 the mahogany of the Philippines, quot- 

 ing Foreman, but on account of its close 

 resemblance, texture, and specific grav- 

 ity, it seems it would better be entitled to 

 be called the ' ' rosewood of the Philip- 

 pines. " It is eighth among the woods of 

 the islands in resistance, twenty-third 

 in elasticity, and thirty- first in specific 

 gravity. 



Of the fine woods of the superior 

 group, calantas is the next in impor- 

 tance to narra. Of this wood there is an 

 excellent display in the Forestry Build- 

 ing. The two large slabs, 39 x 5. i feet 

 and 4 inches thick, highly polished on 

 one side, are magnificent samples of the 

 calantas wood. From this and other 

 specimens on exhibit the World's Fair 

 visitor can form a good idea of its im- 

 portance. It is fairly distributed over 

 the islands and is worth from 5 to 6 

 cents per square foot on the beach where 

 it is cut and 35 cents delivered in the log 

 at Manila $100 per 1,000 feet linear 

 measure in lumber in Manila. While 

 these are the classified prices, they 

 should not by any means be taken as a 

 basis for business calculations. 



With proper transportation, modern 

 methods of chopping and handling logs, 

 and good sawmills, taken together w T ith 

 the cheap labor that can be had in the 

 islands, there is no reason why the fine 

 woods of the Philippines might not be 

 placed upon the markets of the world at 

 a lower figure than similar woods from 

 other countries. 



Calantas grows principally on the isl- 

 ands of L,uz6n, Mindoro, Negros, and 

 Paragua. 



Of all the woods of the first order, ca- 

 lantas is first in elasticity, and is therefore 

 most valuable for small boat building, 

 for making cigar boxes, and ordinary 

 constructions. 



Of specific gravity it is forty-first, 

 and for resistance there are 46 other 

 woods rank above it. It is sometimes 

 erroneously called cedar in America, on 

 account of the close resemblance to the 

 South and Central Americancedar wood. 

 It varies in shadesf rom a blood red, black 

 red, purplish red, to an ashy rose. It is 

 not much subject to attacks of insects 

 and is very durable. 



The calantas is fragrant, and when 

 burning emits an odor similar to that 

 of juniper. 



Molave, christened the "Queen of 

 Woods" by the Filipinos, also belongs 

 to the superior group, and grows wild 

 in Cebii, Leyte, Luzon, Masbate, Min- 

 danao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Para- 

 gua, Samar, Sorsogon, and many other 

 islands. It is well displayed in the For- 

 estry Building. It is worth upon the 

 beach where it is cut 10 cents per square 

 foot, 80 cents delivered at Manila, and 

 $145 per i ,000 feet of lumber. It is prob- 

 ably the most common and best known 

 hardwood in the Philippine Islands. 



The texture is fine and grainy and 

 susceptible of a fine polish. It is of great 

 value for building purposes on account 

 of its great strength and being exempt 

 from decay. It is cut into magnificent 

 plank, and is used for flooring, door 

 panels, and other furnishing and finish- 

 ings in the construction of the better 

 class of buildings. It is used in ship- 

 building for everything excepting the 

 keel. It is excellent wood for statues 

 and other ornamental woodwork, as it 

 is not subject to the attacks of insects, 

 which deface and destroy many kinds 

 of wood in the Philippines. 



There are great opportunities for 

 making money by handling the fine 

 woods of these islands for the markets 

 of the world. 



A finer display of different kinds of 

 woods has probably never been made 

 than that contained in the Philippine 

 Forestry Exhibit at the World's Fair. 



