American Forestry 



VOL. XXI 



JANUARY, 1915 



No. 1 



PHILIPPINE FOREST WEALTH 



AN OPPORTUNITY, WITH PROPER CONSERVATION TO MAKE THE 

 ISLANDS' TIMBER LANDS STEADILY INCREASE IN VALUE 



By Dean C. Worcester 

 Formerly Secretary of the Interior to the Philippine Islands 



THE land area of the Philippines 

 is approximately 115,000 square 

 miles of which no less than 

 40,000 are still covered by virgin 

 forests, while second growth forests, of 

 greater or less value, hold possession of 

 an additional 20,000. All but an insig- 

 nificant fraction of this vast area belongs 

 to the public domain and public forest 

 lands can be acquired for agricultural 

 purposes only upon a proper certificate 

 from the director of forestry that they 

 are more valuable for agriculture than 

 for forest purposes. 



They produce timber, cabinet woods, 

 and other valuable forest products in 

 great abundance and endless variety, 

 and the Philippine stand of hard wood 

 is undoubtedly one of the most import- 

 ant remaining in the world. More than 

 2,500 tree species have now been 

 identified. 



Notable among the very valuable 

 structural timbers is molave, which has a 

 grain of such nature that it can hardly 

 be split. It is practically impervious to 

 the attacks of "white ants" and is 

 capable of resisting the injurious effects 

 of the tropical sun and rain for centuries. 

 Let anyone who doubts the strict 

 accuracy of this statement examine the 

 forts, now falling into ruins, built long 

 ago for defense against the Moros, or 

 the window sills of the oldest buildings 

 in the city of Manila. Numerous other 

 woods, admirably suited to structural 

 work of all kinds, including the hand- 

 somest and most durable inside finish- 



ing, are to be had in great abundance. 

 There are many cabinet woods which 

 leave nothing to be desired in beauty, 

 workability and durability. It is a 

 thousand pities that some of these, like 

 red laudn, should have been introduced 

 into the markets of the United States 

 under such misleading designations as 

 "Philippine mahogany." The woods 

 which most nearly approach mahogany 

 in color and texture are red ndrra and 

 tindalo, each of which is quite good 

 enough to be known under its own 

 name. 



Good matchwood 

 abundance . Pa hn a 

 bows and fishrods. 

 excellent substitute 

 I once began the 



is produced in 

 brava makes fine 



Mdncono is an 

 for lignum- vitae. 

 preparation of a 



memorandum on the several uses to 

 which I had seen bamboo put, but after 

 writing quite steadily for three days 

 gave up the task on which I had then 

 made only a fair beginning. One of the 

 common bamboos produces an excel- 

 lent paper pulp and doubtless a number 

 of tree species would be available for 

 this use. 



Dye woods are to be had in consider- 

 able abundance. There are good stands 

 of gutta-percha trees at various points 

 in the southern islands. The pitch of 

 the pine trees which cover great areas 

 in Northern Luzon is exceptionally rich 

 in turpentine and there are numerous 

 other valuable gums and rosins of which 

 the most important is damar, locally 

 known as almdciga, used in making 



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