XIV, 6 
King: Philippine Bast-fiber Ropes 
625 
Table XXX. — Physical tests of rope made fro7ii the bast of Ficus 
benjamina — Continued. 
Ultimate tensile strength (dry) : 
Mean in kilograms 156 
Maximum in kilograms 176 
Minimum in kilograms 126 
Mean in pounds 343 
Maximum in pounds 388 
Minimum in pounds 277 
Ultimate tensile strength (wet) : 
Mean in kilograms 153 
Maximum in kilograms 164 
Minimum in kilograms 119 
Mean in pounds 338 
Maximum in pounds 362 
Minimum in pounds 262 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (dry) ; 
Kilograms per square centimeter 480 
Pounds per square inch 6,830 
Mean ultimate tensile strength per unit area (wet) : 
Kilograms per square centimeter 471 
Pounds per square inch 6,700 
Mean elongation at instant of rupture; 
Dry (per cent) 9 
Wet (per cent) 15 
Mean weight per unit length: 
Grams per meter 31.0 
Pounds per foot 0.0208 
Average breaking length: 
Meters 5,030 
Feet 16,500 
Moisture (per cent) 8.41 
FICUS FORSTENII Miq. Balete. 
Local names: Balete, halite (Bataan, Mindoro, Rizal, Zambales) ; basakla 
(Abra, liocano) ; daldkit (Negros) ; langaban (Moro in Cotabato) ; puos 
or puspus (liocano, Itneg). 
A strangling fig with oblong, distantly nerved, coriaceous 
leaves and ellipsoid, sessile, axillary fruits ; throughout the Phil- 
ippines at low altitudes. 
Ficus forstenii bast is ochraceous salmon, and numerous fine 
fibrils protruding from the strips give the rope a ragged ap- 
pearance. Plate IV, fig. 11, shows this hairy character and 
would seem to indicate that the fiber has been beaten to make 
it more pliable. The average length of the bast strips in the 
rope obtained for test is 738 millimeters. The strands are four 
strips thick. When dry, rope made of Ficus forstenii is very 
low in tensile strength and breaking length. However, im- 
mersion for twenty-four hours in water improves the tenacity 
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