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ROBINSON. 
adding to the labor, time, and price of the hat, does produce a more 
durable as well as a handsomer article, although it is possible to 
carry the process too far. Buntal is not divided, and can not be, the 
strands being of the natural size. The dealers claim for a bamboo hat 
of medium grade, costing perhaps 3 pesos, a duration of 3 years, the year 
including 12 months in which it might be worn. In this time, it would 
require several cleanings, and the ^process of cleaning is a critical period 
in the life of the hat. One hat was shown me, which was said to have 
been in constant use for 12 years and to have had 25 cleanings. It was 
still in excellent condition, except for an apparently accidental injury 
along one margin. It was a high grade bamboo, and at present prices 
would have cost 18 to 20 pesos. 
In use, there are still other factors. The weave of buntal is too open 
for daytime wear in the Tropics by white men; but for evenings, for 
those who are natives of the Tropics, and for summer use in temperate 
regions, this open weave creates no difficulties. It is prettier than the 
ordinary grades of bamboo, which is adapted to all conditions, but 
when it is compared with the higher grades of bamboo, the decision is a 
matter of taste, although the actual hats are of very different appearance. 
Finally, into the export problem comes the question of competition. 
Here buntal has the advantage, as it is unique, whereas Philippine bamboo 
has to meet very severe rivalry in the products of other countries. 
None of the above criticisms apply to the Baliuag weave of buntal. 
On the other hand, it requires- more material than the Lucban hat, and 
the work takes a disproportionally longer time, as it is more difficult. 
As a result, these hats are double the price of ordinary buntal, so that 
they can not be exported in large quantities under present conditions. In 
small lots or at lower prices, they should command a ready sale, as they 
are very beautiful and durable, coming, among Philippine hats, second 
only to rattan, which is still more expensive. 
A somewhat recent departure is the making of flat hats, as if they 
were intended for small mats, for which they might well be used, these 
being subsequently folded into the shape desired. Much more important 
for local purposes is the use of bamboo as the outer covering over a stiffer 
framework, giving all the appearance and advantages of straw hats with 
greater strength. This will be referred to again under the heading 
straw hats. Recently, also, large hats have been made in considerable 
quantity to meet the demands of the export trade, of bamboo, buri, and 
buntal. The workers rarely have any real difficulties in adapting their 
methods to changing styles, but they, are rather averse to change, and 
apt to meet the wishes of those whose interests are even more their own 
by a demand for increased prices. This must be considered one of the 
more serious drawbacks of the trade. 
Why the use of bamboo for hats should be so concentrated in Baliuag 
