﻿PHILIPPINE FIBERS. 101 



the quick and slaked lime, respectively. As there is a profit in this of 

 about 1*0.60 per cavan for quick lime and 1*0.17 for slaked lime, it will 

 be seen that if the consumer were to burn his own lime, under present 

 conditions it would cost about 1*0.90 per cavan of 80 pounds in Manila. 

 This is one cent Philippine currency or one-half cent United States 

 currency per pound. This rate is .excessive, but it is obtained under 

 conditions of manufacture and transportation which are of the crudest 

 description. \A ith a modern plant, running under favorable conditions 

 as regards quarrying, fuel and labor, I can see no reason why quick lime 

 should cost more that one-half of this figure. 



(6) At Malabon about 600 tons of slaked lime are also produced 

 annually. This, like other lime obtained along the shores of marine 

 waters, is derived from coral. It is produced at Malabon for 1*0.25 per 

 cavan, and it costs 1*0.38 per cavan in Manila. The greater part of it 

 is used for mortar and whitewash. Other points near Manila where 

 lime is being burned are Malolos, Angat and Baliuag in Bulacan Province 

 and at Sexmoan and Guagua in Pampanga. In general, a limestone 

 belt extends from Binangonan in Rizal Province north through Bulacan 

 and into the Province of Nueva Ecija. The Cabanatuan branch of 

 the Manila and Dagupan Railroad runs nearly parallel to it and 

 through the towns where quarries are at present situated and it is firmly 

 believed that a practically unlimited supply of good lime will readily 

 be available for economic use when the occasion demands. Other local- 

 ities upon which definite information is at hand concerning the extent 

 of the deposits of limestone and their accessibility include the islands* 

 of Batan, Eomblon, Cebu and Panay. The limestone deposits of Batan 

 Island are particularly of interest from the standpoint of their use in 

 the manufacture of paper, because of their proximity to the coal fields 

 and also because of their location with respect to the most promising 

 available supplies of raw material, namely the Manila hemp growing 

 districts. 



An exceptionally pure limestone is found in northern Panay, out- 

 cropping in large masses on both banks of the Badbaran River between 

 Dumarao and Maabutang and also about 4 miles from the former place, 

 which lies on the line of the proposed railroad from Iloilo to Capiz. 

 Old lime-kilns used by the Spaniards for burning this stone are near 

 by. This limestone is cream colored, compact and semi-crystalline, 

 with a low iron and silica content. A large deposit of very pure lime- 

 stone occurs near Pilar on the north coast of Panay, it is very similar 

 in appearance to the other Panay limestone which has just been described, 

 and it should prove well fitted for the manufacture of quick lime. It is 

 situated in the center of a large mangrove forest from which any quantity 

 of cheap fuel could be obtained, and being close to the sea the problem 

 of transportation is minimized. 



