XIII, A, 6 King: Philippine Coir atid Coir Cordage 331 



much more rapidly under ordinary conditions of weather than 

 does abaca rope. 



In order to give a general idea of the tensile strength of com- 

 mercial abaca rope, I have summarized in Table XV the routine 

 tests made in the Bureau of Science. Little information is 

 available other than the size and actual breaking strength of 

 many of the specimens. The purity of the fiber has not been 

 determined, and it seems probable that some of the samples 

 may have been adulterated with maguey and other abaca sub- 

 stitutes. However, the results indicate what may be expected 

 of commercial abaca ropes. 



GENERAL 



About fifteen years ago, machine-laid coir rope imported from 

 India was given a five years' trial by a local construction concern. 

 It was recommended on account of its reputed light weight, 

 durability, and the fact that it floats. The latter was believed 

 to be an especially important consideration for tow lines, as 

 those of abaca submerge when in use. The cordage was prin- 

 cipally of the larger sizes and was used for towing and mooring 

 barges with a displacement ranging from 50 to 800 tons. Ex- 

 perience has amply shown that such rope when slightly worn 

 could not stand the loads to which it was subjected. It fre- 

 quently happened that moored barges in surging back and forth 

 would snap their cables, or hawsers, thereby imperiling the 

 safety of valuable property. The use of coir rope finally had 

 to be abandoned in spite of its relatively low price, because it 

 was weak and unreliable. 



Another report of a trial of machine-laid coir rope was that 

 it suffered gradual reduction in diameter and increase in length. 

 The results given in this paper, showing not only the extremely 

 low elasticity and resilience of coir, but also the tendency of the 

 fiber once it becomes stretched to remain so instead of springing 

 back to its original length after removal of the load, easily ex- 

 plain the gradual thinning of the rope. Every additional load 

 stretches the fiber more and more, its diameter decreasing cor- 

 respondingly. It may be also that the filaments, being short, 

 develop insufficient friction between them by the twist, and that 

 part of the permanent elongation may be due to the filaments 

 slipping past each other. 



In Ilocos Sur coir cordage was discussed with several Fili- 

 pinos engaged in the coastwise trade. By experience they have 

 found that local handmade coir ropes, though weak, are ade- 

 quate to meet the demands imposed by the small sailing craft. 

 On the other hand, several sailing vessels that were moored with 



