El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-02-24

Of the forests. II has kept out the
timber robbers, and they are practi-
.cally as they were when we took hold
Of the islands Here and there con-
cessiOns have been granted, and there
are so steam sawmins in operation,
but as whole the forests are in bet
ter condition than when we came in
i am told II Is impossible to estimate
the wealth Of the lumber resources An
area equal TO about one-half Of Ohio,
Virginia or Kentucky is still covered
with virgin timber and there is per
haps One-half as much more which
has been. carelessly cut over, but could
pc brought into good, productive con-
Oluon- The forest experts state that
there are about 206,0OO,OOO, 600 board
1eet OF timber which could be mar
keted now, and that & great part Of
this is located on OF near the sea
coast in M1ndanaO and LuzOn and could
easily be brought down TO the ships.
Ihere are hundreds OF square miles
upon which the cut viii run from TO-
coo TO $4,000 board feet per acre.
wish could show you these Fill
Pine woods. The trees are enormous
/ nave seen some hardwood trees so
big that you could not reach halfway
around them with your two arms, and
they rose 100 feet from the ground
without a branch Mahogany boards
six feet wide are now and then TO be
seen, and have been told that the
Islands have produced rosewood logs
nine feet IN diameter I have ridden
with mahogany and rosewood, and I
saw floors in Manila the boards OF
which would have made excellent pi-
ano cases. Mr.. FONWOrthy of the
college Of agriculture in Luzon. says
that the Philippine forests have five
times as many different woods as we
nave in the United States. and that
there are several hundred commercial
varieties Thtre is a Benguet pine
which Is soft. and there are many
hardwoods fitted for furniture.
MAJ George p. Ahern, the director Of
the bureau Of forestry, says that a
properly equipped lumber company
would run no risk OF failure in the
Philippines
The margin of profit is too wide. It
costs nothing TO secure a concession,
! but the company must show that Il
mas a large enough capital TO prop
I erly exploit the tract which it
takes Exclusive privileges can be
granted Alp to tracts Of several hun
dred square miles in extent, and that
for 20 years Only the stumDage Is
sold, the land remaining in the pos
session Of the government The woods
! are divided by law into four classes.
! and there is government charge
which ranges from 81 to IS per 1000
I board feet for the cut The govern
ment has maps OF the forests and il is
ready to furnish Information to pros
pective investors.
Fortunes in Mines
We are just beginning TO discover the
mineral wealth Of the Philippines The
bureau Of science at Manila has had
mining engineers and metallurgists
looking up the possibilities and map
ping the country. They say that the
islands hold districts which are rich
in gold copper and iron. and they have
recently discovered extensive under
ground gold workings which were
made by the 1gorrOtes. The openings
OF these were so small that a man OF
good size could hardly get in, but
farther on, when the mineral was
reached large rooms had been exca-
waited and hundreds Of tons Of gold
ore taken out. This ore was crushed
in rock mills, many OF which are still
to be seen, and the gold was then
pannsd out and melted into bars II
is said that the islands have been
yielding gold as far back as the third
century A D., and during the last
200 years there have been numerous
mines operated by the nativce Span-
lards, Englishmen and Americans
The Spaniards and EngIishmen were
not allowed TO work in the Mountain
Province on account Of the IgorrOtes
and other head hunters, but since the
Americans came our miners have scat
tered over the country and some Of
them are now holding and DEVELOPING
properties which were located SONS
one of the pest dist les IS near Ia
guio. where is nov the suminsc capital
Of the Philippines Tnare Is nna com
pany there which has 80 claims. in
which are 1875 veins OF gold. These
veins range from one to 20 feet in
width. and some can be traced for two
miles along the surface. One company
has, the ore developed for 500 feet be
low the grass roots and has blocked
out half million tons Of ore In some
Of the mills they are crushing the ore
and taking IT out on amalgamated
plates. In others the ore is treated
with cyanide, The above information
comes from Frank G. Eddinefield. who
IS mining engineer Of the bureau Of F.
science.
Another mining district which is
now being exploited is in the little
island Of Masbate. This was also
worked by the Chinese. and II has
three companies working in IT fodav.
Some Of the veins average S14 per tom.
and IT is gotten out with air drills
They are mining gold on the easter
coast OF Luzon, about $50 miles from
Manila This region is an old one and
much Of the output comes from placer
mines. There is a tract of river fIats
upon which the gold is washed dov-n
from the adjacent hills. Some New