The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-30
PHILIPPINE FoREsTs.
A Wealth of Timber Growing on the
 Islands.

A Wealth of Timber Growing on Sne Islands.
 Manila American, . Immense wealth lies in the forests of
 the Philippine islsndS; TheFSs Ssr are sreat sat demand in most all the industries where wood is used awaiting the advenx ot
 skilled lumbermen. To reacn MssS
 sources of wealth much patience SIC cuities s;ns of transportation wiii have to he overcome and laborers who. are Wltnn9 and capable of performing the wSrk of felling and removing the timber VII nave '' 'rSe forestry bureau in the phII,ppi4E,s ssIH !, Islands was organized in April. lsOo. lts
 work was only practically begun, pvt
 sSn nas alrsaa been cnsasnt fcr the work of exploiting the forest growtn n detail has not yet been assembled ano, in fact men with the necessary tschnical knowledge, who are willing to amnate
 with the bureau. have not yet been e. cured. those woods Is known 1t will tend 70 ci-
 srs from Central and South America te
 wood is imported into the United States
 each year at q very nigh price Many ef
 quality and would nnd . ready market with our furniture makers.
 The bureau has now eS varieties cf na-
 tive wSSS: y. tsa S fS 1ss Hssh
 month more varieties are being added and ippines will show . total of nearly. 1000
 .SsS :.ss sf S rss . sa. sny sa Sf wsss r
 The public forest lands comprise rem one-fourth to possibly one-haf or tne area of the Philippine Isisnds. or from ly GOOO,ooc acres of virgin forest owned by the State in the islands of Mindora and
 Paragua. The island of Mipdera, with an area of more than so;oceoGe .p escrss esa is 1, In the province of Gagayan, in the isIand
 of Luson.. there are more than Aooo.ooO
 acres nt forest.
 riety of valuable gum, rubber and sutta
 The bureau has list of seventeen dye woods. the revenue from which. If prop. erly exploited. should pay large part of tho government expenses. a, The ylang yiang tree abounde there. its blossoms producing an oil which is the
 base of many of the renowned perfumes; cultivators of these trees.
 The western slope of Romblon is a mass of cocoanut palms from the waters edge
 the %9Sstss yssr2 aSp of sc ss s
 when 1t Is realized that several hundred struck with the. income from such pos
 sessions In all psrts % et axv our soathser thsr' any effort or care.
 The gutta percha forests are especially
 valuable, and 1t will De en important
 great importance of gutta percha at this time Is in connection with the large amount of submarine cables protected by
 the United States sna other countries ,I sso sol ent considered the only suitable material | for the installation of deep~eea ocean ca bies, the use of rubber. for insulation ie
 eeS sSs iesSins suSmsrne cable manufae turers would care to take the reaponsihtl. | ity of constructing an ocean cable 20O'
 miles in length If rubber tnsulation, Gutta percha ie hardly known at pres ent as Philippine export. except by 2
 very few foreign dealers who have guard | ed their secret we'll Its value ig not gem
 ana s s5s rstSeF s sr ose
 mate itS extent. Valuable quantities,
 tivss and sold lo"y so chi6ssss ss,E n''r; Sc
 ''TSS The natives, in M ssthering this flores,
 product instead of sxtracting from incis-
 Ions M the st.ndHg trsss n sns the srss psSVssy sy fellinE them to facilitate their work. To prevent this the United states govern | ment in the Philippines should institute euecLiVe means kOT pI1NSnHHb taS tEhV | ing of these trees and for supervising the gathering of the product. In the work of the foresty division of the Philippines provision has already been l made for this, but the fear will be in a lack of means of carrying the orders into effect throughout the extensive forest re-
 There seems to be danger that the
 worlds supply of this material wtll be- come exhausted, and the steady and fre- mendous advance in the price of the pro-
 duct within the last two years is perhaps the best indication of the growing difii- | culty in meeting demands.
 Aside from the demand for glitta per l cha and other gum tree products there | is great demand in Manila and through | out the Orient for construction timber. 1 This demand will continue, as many iEp- l portant public works are in contempia- | ton in the Philippines. Many private ci1- | terprises will make demands. Thousands | of houses must be built, and when the | present condition of these islands and the
 vast amount of york t0 & Ss done are r:es,, con | when the present high price Of timber | will materially lessen. | There are few lumber companies there | properly equipped to handle large logs | It will take companies contemplaung | such work many months to establiet | theFnselves, to secure labor and transpor- l tation to deliver their first cargo. If suct | companies are not prepared to furnish
 master mechanics, expert gang bosses | in fact, all the skilled labor required terial-it would be hazardous to attempt | to move the large logs. which must ht | cut and brought to market if these for | oaf tracts are properly exploited.