EDITOKIAL. 060 



Wlien the use of aniline dj'es became common, it was found that the 

 Bismarck browns would furnish a cheaper and more easily handled dye 

 than cutch ; consequentlj^, the latter gradually ceased to be used as a dye. 

 It still had a very large field or usefulness as a tanning extract and the 

 manufacturers felt very little concern at this loss of importance as a dye. 



The original cutch was a low grade product and was admitted to the 

 United States free of duty. The mangrove extract was of a better 

 quality and it was decided to place a tariff on it. By Treasury Decision 

 ISTo. 37197, of March 9, 1906, it was declared that mangrove extract 

 should no longer be allowed free entry as cutch, but should be dutiable 

 under paragraph 22 of the Customs Act of 1897. 



Cutch, as a crude and low grade extract, could not pay this duty and 

 leave any profit for the manufacturer; consequently, the oldest of the 

 firms in Borneo found it advisable to retire from business. There are still 

 four companies making cutch in Borneo, but they are shipping scarcely 

 any of it to the United States because the duty takes away nearly all of 

 the profits. 



The principal sjDecies of mangroves from which the bark extract is 

 made are Ehizophora mucronata Lamk., R. conjugata L., Bruguiera gym- 

 norrhiza Lamk., B. eriopetala W. & A., and Ceriops roxburghiana Arn. 

 Other species are also used; but these occur in the greatest quantity and 

 are of the widest distribution. All of these are foimd in abundance in the 

 Philippines. 



P. W. POXWOETHY. 



COAL IN THE CAGAYAN VALLEY. 



Coal has long been known to exist in the Cagayan Valley in the 

 vicinity of Alcala, and last September Mr. E. K. Clark and I, both of 

 the division of mines. Bureau of Science, had the opportunity of visiting 

 several of the outcrops. 



- The first was near Baggao, a small town about 10 kilometers up the 

 Paret Eiver, a stream joining the Cagayan at Alcala. The coal outcrops 

 in a small brook called the Wawing, about 3 kilometers north of the 

 town. Here the seam is about a meter in thickness. Above the coal is 

 a layer of clay gradually changing to a coarse sandstone; below is a 

 sandy clay. This coal was worked for a short time during the Spanish 

 regime and a large open-cut made, but after the death of the owner the 

 concession was allowed to lapse. 



About 2 kilometers west of this outcrop, coal occurs in the bed of a 

 small stream flowing north. It was not possible to gauge the thickness 

 of the seam here, but in all probability it is no greater than the first one 



