8 THE AMES FORESTER 



probably 300 or 400 yards or more. At any rate they reach to the 

 tops of the highest trees and make tangles of growth in the 

 openings that are almost impenetrable. Their long palm-like 

 leaves are armed with strong recurved spines which if caught in 

 one's clothing will bring you to a sudden halt. In many places 

 also climbing bamboo occurs in the openings and forms an even 

 more impenetrable mass than do the rattans. 



The quantity of timber per acre varies, of course, with the site 

 and the composition of the forest. The following tabulated 

 statement, based on averages of different tracts that have been 

 examined in different localities, will give an idea of the quantity 

 of timber in trees over 16 inches in diameter that occur in a 

 number of localities : 



Feet B. M. per acre 

 Northern Negros (Low hill forest) 



Dipterocarps (6 species) 42,900 



All other species 2,300 



Total 45,200 



Eastern Mindoro (River Plain) 



Dipterocarps (4 species) 9,400 



All other species 6,900 



Total 16,300 



Mindanao Island 



IMpterocarps (10 species) 13,600 



All other species 15,300 



Total 28,900 



Bataan Province (Hilly to mountainous) 



IMpterocarps (6 species) 19,600 



All other species 8,900 



Total 28,500 



The molave type is so called because molave (vitex parmflora) , 

 one of the hardest and most durable woods which the Islands 

 produce, is a characteristic tree. This type occupies the drier 

 sites, generally the lower hills where growing conditions are 

 not so favorable for the development of heavy stands of diptero- 

 carps. The forest is much more open than in the previous type 

 and the larger trees are farther apart, shorter and more irregular in 

 form although some of them are among the most valuable species 

 which occur. Between the larger trees is the characteristic under- 

 story of smaller ones and through the whole a profusion of vines 

 in which the climbing bamboos often predominate. The stand 

 per acre in this type of timber is small as compared with the 

 previous one, averaging not more than 3,000 feet B. M. per acre 

 with maximum stands perhaps 3 or 4 times as large. The com- 

 mercial value of this type, however, is greater than would at 

 first appear, since many of the trees are splendid cabinet woods 

 which bring the highest market prices and also because this type 

 of forest is apt to grow in the more accessible regions so that the 

 cost of exploitation is relatively low. 



The mangrove type grows on tide flats, at the mouths of 

 streams and on the shores of protected bays, in fact practically 



