﻿1 08 RICHMOND. 



FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND AVAILABILITY OF THE 

 RAW MATERIALS WHICH WERE DISCUSSED IN THE ENTIRE SERIES OF 

 ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT. 



MANILA HEltr (ABACA) WASTE. 



A considerable quantity of Manila hemp waste has been exported from 

 the Islands since my work on the suitability of this material for paper 

 making was published; thus the problems incident to its collection, cur- 

 ing, sorting, baling and transportation are being solved by the com- 

 mercial interests involved. It remains to be seen whether the costs of 

 baling and transporting large quantities of waste from the abaca grow- 

 ing districts to Manila and thence to New York or London will allow of 

 this material being economically exported. Fundamentally, it is contrary 

 to commercial practice to attempt to export such a cheap and bulky 

 commodity for long distances, particularly when only about 40 per cent 

 of a given weight is of any value for the purpose for which it is intended. 

 It is self-evident that if this raw material were pulped on or near the 

 place where it is produced, the reduction in the cost of baling and 

 shipping would allow a more attractive price to be paid for the material 

 itself, and better methods of curing and sorting could be inaugurated. 



In my opinion the reduction in cost of freight and handling incident 

 to placing abaca waste half-stuff on a foreign market, thus allowing a 

 greater outlay in properly preparing the waste for the digestion process, 

 is certain to bring better results if the quality of the resulting product 

 alone is considered, than would the exportation of the raw product. To 

 pulp the waste here for subsequent exportation would effect a reduction 

 of 50 per cent in freights alone. The initial cost and daily running 

 expenses of an hydraulic baling press would nearly offset the cost of 

 equipment for a pulp mill of 10 tons daily capacity. 



COGON GRASS. 23 



Distribution. — The following data with reference to cogon grass are 

 taken from a report of observations on paper materials in Tarlac made by 

 myself while traveling over that province in December, 1906. Cogon 

 of good quality is found between Capas and Concepcion, Tarlac Province, 

 Luzon; the country is level, consisting for the most part of deserted rice 

 and sugar lands which contain some scattering scrub timber. A good 

 road of 7 miles, with but one ford, connects the two places. The two 

 grasses, cogon and talahib, are almost invariably found together, the 

 predominance of one over the other depending upon the altitude, the 

 talahib being more plentiful in low places. At this season of the year 

 talahib has flowered and is rapidly drying and becoming worthless. 



23 See Richmond, Geo. F. : This Journal (1900), 1, for the discussion of cogon 

 and talahib as materials for paper making. 



