112 The Philippine Journal of Science i»n 



regions the annual production of waste wood about certain mills 

 has so increased that the question of its disposal is now a problem 

 before the mill men. Another possible source of waste wood is 

 that from the cutch, or tan bark, industry. During the fiscal 

 year 1914 there were taken from the public forests of the Philip- 

 pine Islands 2,793,295 kilograms of tan bark. 2 The highest 

 percentage of this bark cdmes from the mangrove swamps. 

 These swamps cover extensive areas in Mindanao, Palawan, and 

 other islands in the southern parts of the Archipelago. If means 

 for a profitable utilization of the wood from these trees could 

 be devised, it seems probable that a stimulus would be given to 

 a larger tan bark industry. 



The woods selected for distillation are representative of the 

 timber trees that are found in greatest abundance and also of 

 the trees furnishing tan barks. 



Bacauan, langarai, and api-api represent classes of woods 

 which comprise the greater portion of the forest areas in the 

 swampy regions of Mindanao. The bark stripped from trees 

 of the bacauan family is especially of value as a source of tannins, 

 while the wood itself is little used as lumber and offers a ready 

 supply for distillation. The area of these mangrove swamps is 

 approximately 207,200 hectares. 3 Apitong, tangili, guijo, yacal, 

 white lauan, and palosapis belong to the Dipterocarpacese and 

 are representative of some of the principal timber trees that are 

 milled in the Philippines. The dipterocarp forests are estimated 

 by the Bureau of Forestry as covering 70 per cent of the total 

 area of the commercial forests of the Islands. Ipil and narra 

 belong to the Leguminosae and are representative of that class of 

 timber trees. Benguet pine, Pinus insularis Endl., is the com- 

 mon pine, found principally in the Benguet region. It is milled 

 particularly in northern parts of Luzon, where it extends over 

 an approximate area of 518,000 hectares. 



The specimens of wood used for furnishing the analytical data 

 were taken from several sources. 



The bacauan, the api-api, and the langarai were identified 

 and cut in Mindanao swamps and were shipped to the Bureau 

 of Science, where they were allowed to season for five years. 

 The pine logs were obtained from the Benguet region through 

 the courtesy of the Bureau of Forestry. The other specimens 

 were identified and purchased from reliable lumber dealers in 

 Manila, care being taken in selecting samples that seemed to 



"■Rept. P. I. Bur. For. for 191U (1915) and ibid, for 1915 (1916). 

 'Cox, Alvin J., This Journal, Sec. A (1911), 7, 2. 



