Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1901-09-12
PHILIPPINE FORESTRY.
DEVELOPMENT Of the Timber Re-
sources Slow.
LABOR PROBLEM A DRAWBACK.

HuhuTeO
cites of Trees Found-Ravages of
the White Ant.
Captain George P. Ahern, who has
charge Of the forestry interests of the
United States government in the Phil
ippine Islands, discussed the subject in
terestingly with a visitor the other day
al Washington, says the New York
Post.
"Forestry and numbering in the Phil
ippines," said he, "are very different
from the corresponding Industries in
the United States. AS a rule, Philip
pine timber runs to the hard woods,
while American timber has a larger
proportion Of soft. Then, the methods
of handling timber in the two countries
are very unlike. There is no one in the
islands now who understands getting
the valuable stuff out Of the dense for
ests and preparing 1t for market. Tim
Der can be cut on b public lands by
any one who secures a permit from the
forestry Office. No charge is made for
this permit, but the wood to be remov-
ed must pay a tax on every cubic yard.
"To one accustomed to American for
ests and industry the slow gait at
which work goes on in the Philippines,
in spite of the high value Of timber
properly cut and prepared, is a marvel.
Out Of 10000 square miles of dense
forest, for the most part in a virgin
state, only 100000 feet Of lumber
was taken between the LIST of July,
1900, and the middle Of May, this year.
It is very hard to get efficient labor for
forestry work or numbering in the
Philippines. The lack Of roads is a
serious drawback, but does not COM
pare with the labor problem. The
natives acquire p~rejudices against
many employers and will not work for
them at any price, and ever when they
consent to work they are not worth a
great deal. Being Of small stature.
they cannot handle weights nor stand
a long strain Of hard work. One Irish
man would be worth ten Filipinos in
an island forest. / have seen four ma
lives struggle with q wheelbarroW
which n sound bodied laborer here
could pick up and run away with. One
would seize it by the handle bars, and
the other three would pull on a rope
attached to the front Of the body and
then barely move it. From this illus
tration you may judge what a handful
of these little men could do with a log
six or seven feet in diameter.
speaking of big logs, there are sew
eral varieties Of trees in the islands
which attain gigantic size. The ma
tfves have never been able to work this
hip &SrS,ho, ~+o4 ho,na o,G1 kLo~1 49, Ga
hard wood tables of large dimensions,
whose tops are n solid piece. The
mystery is explained when you learn
that after cutting down the tree from
which such a slab car be got they slice
out this single piece by hand and leave
the remainder to rot. They have nei-
Their the NEAR Dor the ingenuity to
get such a log to market. Here is
where skilled American labor, dummy
engines, wire cables and other facilities
familiar here will come in play to some
purpose.
"a mistaken idea prevails in the
United States that most of the Philip
pine timber is of varieties very valua-
BILE for cabinet making. There are seven
or eight varieties which take a fine fin
ish, but apart from these none of the
native woods is likely to find its
way to the United States. The COM
merce which has already sprung up in
a small way between the islands and
the Pacific. coast is restricted by the
uncertainty of profit on the stuff that
comes this way as well as by the use
1essness Of some Of our wood in the
Philippine Islands. The white ant,
rtSaH 80 4Io +ovron oA %1o f1ro141 ~
the archipelago, will eat pine, fir and
other soft woods, but will not touch
cedar. The quartermaster's depart
ment has made some experiments in
shipping fir, redwood, spruce and pine
from the Pacific coast for the construc-
ton Of storehouses and other military
buildings, but the ravages of b ant
doom these structures to a short life.
On the other hand, cedar is pretty ex-
pensive and not strong enough for use
in much structural work. The native
woods, which are proof against insect
plaques, will probably continue. to be
used chiefly for buildings there.
1.-THE Philippine forests offer excep.
tional attractions to American capital
bent on developing the country. We
have scientific parties exploring the
different islands, and they have found
thus far some 665 different varieties OF
trees, with a prospect of adding 800 OF
400 more to the number. AS time per
mits our bureau will test each variety
for strength, resistance to water, in
vulnerability to the white ant and con
corning other particulars on which lum
bermen and builders will depend fol
r1idonoo Monu nvoSfnpnfS havo al
ready been made in Philippine timber
but there is room for all that are iikel.
to go there for some time to come
naaIA a~=a.Aon Ill he hoId "a n cArio