242 RICHMOND. 



Fiber thus prepared bleached to a splendid white with 12 to 15 per 

 cent of bleaching powder. The fiber was strong, of good felting capacity, 

 and it made a more bulky sheet than wood pulp. Bamboo fibers average 

 2.5 to 3 millimeters in length, so that they are somewhat longer and 

 materially narrower than spruce fibers. 



That bamboo is readily resolved by the soda process of treatment to 

 a fiber which is easily blended has been proved beyond doubt, and further 

 experiment in this direction is scarcely necessary. The fiber possesses 

 the requisite length, strength, and felting capacity to meet the paper 

 maker's demands, and the quantity of resistant cellulose per unit weight 

 of the raw material is sufficient to warrant its extraction. Therefore, 

 those factors other than raw material which control the economic use of 

 bamboo for the purpose in question alone remain for discussion. The 

 whole problem resolves itself into determining the cost of placing a ton 

 of the finished product upon the local or foreign market. 



COST OF THE RAW MATERIAL. 



While a considerable amount of bamboo is annually removed from 

 the public forest for various purposes, it is not taxed at the present 

 time, hence no statistics of the quantity thus consumed are at hand. 

 Furthermore, the unsystematic state of the present industry affords 

 no reliable basis for estimating the cost of collecting large quantities 

 of the material under well-organized conditions. The price at which 

 bamboo can be obtained in the open market and the items of cost which 

 go to make the present market rate are for the moment the only reliable 

 source of information. Bamboo can be obtained in Orani, Bataan Prov- 

 ince, at from 8 to 12 pesos per 1,000 stems, averaging 7.5 meters in length, 

 according to the season. 



The present method of cutting and transporting the bamboo from the public 

 forests to the Orani market may be taken as in use elsewhere throughout the 

 Philippines. The bamboo stems are chopped off with a heavy knife about 1 

 meter from the ground, trimmed into lengths of 7.5 meters, and bound into 

 compact bundles of 50 stems each for convenience in hauling. 



The bamboos are cut, trimmed and bundled at the rate of 30 to 40 centavos 

 per 100 stems. The bundles are hauled through the forest for a distance of 1 to 

 2 kilometers to the Colo River and then rafted down the stream 3 to 5 kilometers 

 to Orani. 



An average day's work for a man and carabao consists in hauling 6 bundles 

 or 300 stems from the forest to the river at a cost of 1 peso to 1 peso and 25 

 centavos. 8 The labor cost, then, of cutting and transporting 1,000 stems to the 

 river varies from 6 pesos and 33 centavos to 8 pesos and 16 centavos. The 

 difference between these figures and the price per 1,000 stems on the Orani 

 market represents the labor cost of rafting and the dealer's profit. 



8 One peso is equal to fifty cents United States currency. 



