488 
The Philippine Journal of Science 
1921 
under this name the product of all the species of Dipterocarpus') 
at 20 per cent of the volume of the commercial forests. Apitong 
( Dipterocarpus grandiflorus) has been reported from the fol- 
lowing provinces and islands: Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Sur, 
Abra, Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bataan, 
Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, Tayaba's, Camarines, Albay, Mindoro, 
Sibuyan, Capiz, Negros, Samar, Biliran, Palawan, Agusan, 
Misamis. 
Apitong is a tall, straight tree, ranging up to 1.80 meters or 
more in diameter and up to 30 meters in clear length. The 
average diameter of merchantable trees is probably between 60 
and 90 centimeters. 
Apitong is moderately hard to hard, stiff and strong, and mod- 
erately heavy to heavy. The grayish or brownish sapwood is 
from 2 to 8 centimeters thick, not quite sharply marked off from 
the heartwood ; the heartwood is light ashy red to reddish brown 
or dark brown ; grain generally fairly straight or slightly 
crossed, often forming a very regular diagonal figure on the face 
of a plank ; texture rather coarse and rough ; strong odor of resin 
when fresh, noticeable even in old dry pieces when worked over ; 
resin exudes from ends of logs and even old pieces when exposed 
to sun ; harder to saw than most of the other, less resinous woods 
of the family, but not otherwise difficult to work. Durability 
not high when in contact with ground or severely exposed to 
weather, but not commonly attacked by boring beetles. 
Structure. — Pith rays generally distinctly of two kinds, fine 
and moderately thick, one to four or five fine ones between every 
two thick ones ; pores small to medium, oval, rarely partitioned, 
numerous, evenly scattered, often with whitish resin deposits; 
resin canals sometimes very few, sometimes very numerous, 
scattered or forming many and conspicuous incomplete rings; 
soft tissue very variable, in rather thin rings or in irregular 
patches about pores, and numerous, scattered, broken, ill-defined 
crosslines between rays ; no growth rings. 
Apitong is probably the most widely used general-construction 
wood in the Islands, being available in large quantities and fit 
for all uses where extreme durability is not absolutely required. 
Besides being used in ship, bridge, wharf, and house construction, 
it is also used for flooring, wagon beds, interior finish, and cheap 
and medium-grade furniture. 
The logs for the present tests were collected, with botanical 
specimens, from the cutting area of the Cadwallader-Gibson 
Lumber Co., at Limay, Bataan Province, Luzon. 
i- 
