720 
WHITFORD. 
here are composed of broad-leaved trees, and would, in the United States 
at least, be classed as hardwoods. In texture, however, a large per cent 
of the trees produce woods with the general mechanical properties of 
pines and other conifers. 
The dipterocarp woods may be divided into three groups. Of these the 
lauans ( Pentacme contorta, Parasliorea plicata and a number of species 
of Shorea), though slightly harder, are not dissimilar to the white pines 
in mechanical structure. They are being used in the Philippines for 
lighter classes of general construction and bid fair to replace all imported 
woods of like qualities. 10 
The apitongs (species of Dipterocarpus and Shorea guiso) will compare 
favorably with the hard pines and are being used for heavier classes of 
general construction. The yacals (certain species of Hopea, Vatica , and 
Shorea) are hard and durable and are used for general construction 
work, especially where contact with the ground is necessary. However, 
the great bulk of the Philippine forests is composed of trees that yield 
timber of the grades of lauan and apitong. Of the trees other than 
dipterocarps found in the dipterocarp forest, probably one-half of the 
bulk is composed of woods that would grade with the lauans or apitong. 
Of these the family Anacardiaceae produces Koordersiodendron pinnatum 
(amuguis), Drucontomelum dao (dao), Mangifera altissima (pahutan) ; 
in the Sapotaceae are Illipe ramiflora and several species of Palaquium ; 
in the Sterculiaceae are Tarrietia javanica (lumbayao) and other species 
of several genera; in the Sapindaceae is Pometia pinnata (malugay) ; in 
the Rhamnaceae are species of Zizyphus (balacat) ; in the Combretaceae 
are several species of Terminalia , and in the Rubiaceae is Sarcoceplialus 
cordatus (bancal). 11 
The prevalent idea that the tropics produce nothing but hardwoods 
suitable for special uses like the teak for shipbuilding, and the mahoganies 
and their substitutes, for fine interior finish, furniture and cabinet making, 
is due, in the Philippines at least, to a number of causes. 
1. The wood-destroying forces in the tropics are much greater than 
in temperate regions. The continual heat and moisture favor the rapid 
development of fungi, and with the presence of anay (white ants) tend 
to shorten the duration of untreated timbers in almost every class of 
construction, consequently hard durable timbers are sought for permanent 
structures. 
2. The cost of extracting such timbers by crhde methods (animal and 
10 On account of color and fine figure, when quarter sawn, the best grades of 
the lauans are valuable for furniture, cabinet making, and fine classes of interior 
finish, and are used extensively as such. 
11 See Foxworthy, F. W. Philippine Woods, This Journal 2 (1907) Botany 
351-404, and Gardner, R. Mechanical Properties and Uses of Thirty-four Philip- 
pine Woods, Bureau of Forestry (Philip.) Bull. 4 (1900) 1-66, for description of 
the uses and mechanical properties of these woods. 
