The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-08-11
America in The Philippines
X. UNSURPASSED FOREST WEALTH

/ them and plant his rice where the soil
is enriched by the ashes. After one or
two years the weeds begin to grow
in the clearing, and the agricuturist
moves to new place and repeats his
method of preparing his ground
Maps made by the Forest Service
| show where this has been done and
how the destructiveness of floods has
been increased thereby. Northern Luz
| zon, where floods have recently
wrought great. damage, is a land of
mountain and valley. I.le Forest
Service maps show that in the prov
inces of Tarlac. Pampagna and Caga-
yam, Sc per cent Of the land is aban-
doned clearings and only 10 per cent
cultivated. With only 15 per cent In
forests these provinces are annually
devastated by floods. 1t has been
demonstrated by actual experience in
Germany and Switzerland that In
mountainous country where there is
less than so per cent of forest. trouble
may not only be expected, but will
| inevitably come. 1t has also been
shown that while five-sixths OF water
falling on bare ground runs off, for
est area retains fve-sixths of the
rainfall, and that this appears later in
springs and streams when 1t is needed.
From this 1t is evident that railroad
| development in the mountainous Phil
| ippine Islands. followed by destructive
exploitation, would spell ruin to de-
nuded areas.
Much of the timber in the islands is
found along the coasts where it may be
| skidded to the beach and along navi-
| gable rivers, where 1t may be cheaply
handled. A great deal is also found
| where railroads must be constructed
! for some distance to bring 1t within
the scope of water transportation. as.
/ - ~
and neighboring provinces 1000 feet.
above the sea. One hears a great deal
about the unwillingness of the Fill
Pine to do manual labor. but in the
lumber industry this has proved I'M
| true. The Filipino has a natural
aptitude for running machines and Is
fond of the work. Under an Ameri-
can foreman, he makes a frst-rate
sawmill hand and a mill with a Fill
Pine crew" does not shut down for
want of efficient or willing labor. The
chief difficulty at present is that wa
ter transportation rates are prohibit
lively high, and railroad transportation
does not exist to any extent.
In the Offices OF the Forestry Bureau
in Manila one may see specimens of
many varieties of wood in the form
of cuts" from logs. and in the form
of finished products of the forest.
These show the high quality of hard
woods that compare with mahogany
cherry and black walnut in the uses to
which they are put. distinctive
piece of furniture in Manila is table
eight or ten feet in diameter made
of a single piece from the butt cut" of
a giant Nara tree. One of these ia
bles was exhibited at the Louisiana
Purchase Exposition and attracted no
little attention. In the Jesuits'
Church, in the old walled city of Ma
Mia, there is a pulpit made of single
piece of timber. The entire interior
of this building Is finished in beauti-
full hardwoods from native forests
Forestry in the Philippines is at
present sufficiently hazardous to appeal
to the most daring young adventurer
Long Journeys of exploration must
be made In forests infested by naked
sayaRes who are not always friendly,
The service has lost number or val
liable men. At one time two Amerl-
cans and three Filipino forest guards
became the victims OF treacherous
guides in the island of Negros. The
savages are said to have burned
narcotic weed In their camp hre to
make sure of Strengthening their vic
tins while they slept. When the
hodies were discovered by a searching
marty. the wild men explained that
their chieftain needed hat. and that
as they had not enjoyed kllllng Ior
some time they decided to murder the
Marty TO secure hat one of them
wore.
At the head of the Philippine Bureau
of Forestry is Major George P Ahern.
formerly of the United States army,
who led an adventurous career twenty
years ago as Government explorer
in the great Northwest. At one time
he spent three years in the uncharted
forest with trapper for guide and
companion. Later he was In the fore
~round In some of the sharpest en-
Engagements in the Philippine insur-
Tection. He has long been an euthu-
siastic forester. and when the i1mpfre''
was succeeded by the civil government
! In the islands. he was appointed d.
! rector Of Forestry.
Observation-Disclosures In the Philip
U,nea.' XI-COmmeFce and Material
, Progress.
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