New-York tribune., 1901-11-18

HA STATES is too obvious to require argu-
tD The Spanish had forestry bureau in
III" Islands which though esta biished on
.asre51v correct lines, was neither efficient
s--.c,ice nor economical. The revenues de-
<ro-n the forests never exceeded $4,000
,s,, any one year. We have had no difficulty
.onbrng this amount, and there seems no
-seson fer doubling that this amount will
F.rz he increased as We go
o-,e Of the Islands Of the archipelago
a-,,ris+ratjon of forests has come none
en-, In others the damage done by in
a.,-,,,nate cutting can probably never be re-
,a5 Cebu and Negros are Islands, for in
&c vhere constant cutting has resulted in
,s.v5ug a single stick of merchantable wood
si-r Many parts Of Central Luzon. too.
- been completely stripped of their forests
-. pnscientiic manner, indeed, of treating
=. timber Of the islands in the past Is strlk-
.-,v brought home TO the average traveller
-so notes the large proportion Of population 10
-. scnare mile in the inhabited districts and
-,s scarcity cf timber close TO the main routes
--sxsI The minute you leave these roads
,u find yourself in the midst OF vast. virgin
..-es+s. rich in hardwoods, dyewocds, gums and
..,sr PRODUCTS Cebu, with 900 inhabitants to
=. square nile as already said has not naer-
<bcrf
~ seiuhabitauts to the square mile, has been de-
-ss5 almost entirely Of timber. Luzon, with
,.ysntv-eignt inhabitants 10 the square mile,
-, m timber near the centres OF population.
.rs s- would be useless to look for a tree
,--b cutting OF the line of the Dagupan Rail-
s- In Northern Luzon, on the other hand, IN
rsravsu and Isabella. there are at least two
,nfsen acres Of timber remaining The entire
ssst coast IS practically virgin forest, several
,,iu,on acres in extent In Northwestern Luzon
sane pine is said to be left at an altitude OF
sheut three thousand feet. four feet in diameter
snd one hundred feet high Pine here attalns
g diameter Of twelve inches in twenty years
raa though the mountains are being burned
rvs~ BY the saYages every year, the trees seem
n remain uninjured. In Southern and parts OF
Central Luzon fairly good sized tracts OF timber
remain.
ris IL the southwestern group of islands,
tarsver that the greatest wealth Of timber is
h be found Here the forests have practically
rsuainea untouched by the hand of man IN
them are found nara, the Philippine mahogany;
uelave ipil and calantas the cedar Of the
archipelago. Magnificent hardwood trees, four
and five feet in diameter. with clear trunks
Eighty feet up to the first limb, abound All
srer these Islands, in fact, these large trees are
hot feIled. because there are no faculties 1or
hauling heavy timber. Portable, narrow gauge
railways would, no doubt, be found feasible IN
rany places. In Mindoro there is very little
cleared land. The island has always had the
feputation Of being a death trap for the white
ran What the result would be Of clearing
lev hundred square miles Of timber in Mindoro
md Paragua may easily be imagined 1t would
make those islands no less salubrious than is
Luzen to-day, Panay.
The island of A1indanao containing 23 100000
lcres. is almost entirely covered by forest. Its
rhabitants with the exception Of those who
ire settled around the Laguna de Lanao. live IN
asst towns The Moro is too much of gentle
nan, albeit dirty one. 10 work: and especially
Faule he object to the hard work Of telling trees
a tropical forest. He prefers to extract gutta
esrcha from trees, but he does il il so clumsy
lnd uuscientifc q manner that the operation
,ea-ly always results in killing the tree. an
Gid that this is not necessary at all; and the
merges Of the Forestry Bureau are bent, there
lore as far as possible. TO putting a stop TO the
sractice. This viii be a difficult but by no
means impossible job What the value o. TINS
Jingle product Of the forest is. the export 1gures
II Cotabato already quoted, show Eal Us
7sfue will be in the future Is indicated by th=
gteady increase in the demand for gutta PeCeHa,
.aused by increased cable CONSTRUCTION, aLc pS
he rise in the price of this coG1moClty IN the
ace OF newer but much inferior methoos q n
ralation The gUtta percha shipped AZ CoLa-
sate is put UP in fifty pound packages, re-
erasre EXCEPT as 10 color, the twist TOBACCO O.
gev-Orleans The natives have e trick OF load
ng down on the inside with stones SO Is 20
Increase its weight But even this reprehensioIe
nd dshonorable practice has not had the erect
Il lozeriug the price Of the article IN singapore
There are valua bic forests. 100; n Ley - +se
sc-thwesrern islands alone there are no less
Ian twenty millions Of acres OF virgin loresl
Fttn average OF at least Io:ooo Iesa poa.o oe-o
Measure of valuable hard woods &c the acre
d the 75 600 600 acres in the entire 1sIanaS
ls-S234 are forest land. and only about o'ooo,-
Ea are under cultivation. The rest Is mere
Dk.
The price Of timber in the log at tide water
R-ies from 80 10 20 cents q. cubic foot IraHs-
sO-tation TO Manila. which Is eXtraof fol-Ie-!t !
ish, doubles that price Ihe prlcs q 81 7It1;
Rot When extra sizes Of the higher grace
snbers are required. as much as 50 or 80 tMsAiz
an has been paid cubic foot me oeiiatlu @ 60
r all sorts Of timber is very active mere 1ust
Bw owing 10 the destruction Of buildings oy
be war Il has temporarily tnterIered win eAs
nrfation 10 China where there is sooo anu
nnstautly expanding market demand Ioi
s.taIn fine hard woods by ca abinet and furniture
makers In the United States will arise am
Ee, as soon as these woods become hho"N ~
hem
The Forestry Bureau has encountereo W. oDes+s@
fhstacles in the administration or TIE I' Iole -
lack OF native material for the personnel "
II service and great variety OF uIhI.oN eE I:.s
present urdesired tree species. OF 900 isteo
siye woods only 1e0 have so far entered the
1srkst; Of the rest little is known except ti.e
sne. This difficulty is small one ho"sEel,'
impaired with that Of recruiting the psIsoliiie-
disposition is shown by the native offlclals 70
haG service in the provinces Ihey say 10 tiIa.
ass are IN considerable danger Of violence ifCih
assgents as their work is somewhat OF Inc
Ss'scter OF tax collectors for the United states
1Se-nrnent As no man was employed Will
Il clear understanding that he was TO go
Mere ordered discharges followed promptly
Eery refusal to go TO an appointed statlon-
sone hac 70 be got rid OF for neglect or guy
nc disobeeience Of orders The service how