144 MILLER. 



the fiber, forcing the seeds ahead of the roller and out of the 

 cotton. 



After the seeds are all removed, the cotton is spread out on 

 a mat, and several people sit on the floor around it and beat it 

 with flexible sticks. This is done to detach the fibers one from 

 another so that the cotton can be readily spun into a thread. 



The fiber is next virrapped in a piece of dry hemp or banana 

 stalk and is ready to be spun. The bundle of cotton is held 

 in the left hand, a little is drawn out with the right, and is 

 attached to the spindle which is held in the right hand. A stone 

 whorl is fastened to the lower end of the spindle to keep the 

 latter revolving when once it has been set in motion. 



After the cotton has been fastened to the spindle, the latter is 

 set revolving rapidly and the left hand holding the material is 

 gradually raised as high as the spinner can reach. After the 

 thread has been sufficiently twisted, the left hand is slowly 

 lowered, the thread is wound around the spindle, and the pro- 

 cess is repeated. It only remains to weave the thread into cloth. 

 This cloth is about 15 centimeters wide for loin-cloths and about 

 50 centimeters for jackets, blankets, etc. 



In no other part of Mindoro did I see any cotton growing nor 

 any evidence that the people are in the habit of weaving cloth. 



Near Bulalakao, also, the Mangyans make many neat little 

 baskets of bwi and nito. Some of them are bags designed to 

 be worn on the person for carrying betel-nuts, tobacco, lime, 

 or other things. These are flexible. Others are octagonal in 

 shape, often with two of the sides much larger than the others. 

 They vary from 7 to 18 centimeters in extreme length and 

 from 3 to 10 centimeters in depth. They have a close-fitting 

 cover which is as deep as the basket itself and which has a 

 cylindrical extension in the center of the top which serves as a 

 handle. This handle is usually about 2 centimeters in diameter 

 and 5 centimeters high. It is stuff'ed with cotton to give it 

 some rigidity. The baskets are made in two and sometimes in 

 three colors, white, black, and red. The white is of bu7'i, the 

 the black of nito, and the red of dyed bamboo. The Mangyans 

 occasionally make small, fiat, telescope baskets for carrying 

 betel-nuts, tobacco, and similar articles. These are about 14 

 centimeters in length, 10 centimeters in breadth, and 3 centime- 

 ters in thickness, and are made of buri. 



The Mangyans everywhere make a few household baskets 

 and a few for bringing home camotes and other field products, 

 but they do not make them in great quantities. 



