The Bureau of Science has made an exhaustive study of raw materials available in the Philippines for the manufacture of paper pulp. The investigation shows that there is an abundant supply of raw materials for the manufacture of paper. Among these are bamboo (caña bojo variety), cogon grass, and abaca waste. These materials contain all the elements for the manufacture of an excellent pulp product. The supply of bamboo and cogon grass is almost unlimited thruout the Islands. Bamboo fiber is eminently fitted for the manufacture of pulp used for the making of book papers and for certain grades of writing and lithographic materials.
Cattle raising.—There are extensive grass lands suitable for cattle raising in the islands. Seventy five per cent of the country is a rolling expanse of upland territory to the foot-hills with an elevation of 4,500 feet. Aside from forest areas, there are extensive pasture lands such as the grass-covered hills of Nueva Vizcaya, the Mountain Province, and the green plateaus of Bukidnon in Mindanao. There are now cattle raising projects in those places but there is plenty of room left elsewhere.
Girls Embroidery, Paco Intermediate School, Manila
Embroidery.—Hand embroidery in the Philippine Islands has been known for over four centuries, having been introduced by Spanish, French, and Belgian nuns, who taught this artcraft to the Filipino women in their convents where exquisitely fine work was done, mainly for Church altars and tapestries used for decorations.
At the present time there are scattered over the Islands, but chiefly in central Luzon, thousands of men, women and children engaged in this enterprise, which is a means of adding to their income, but is not considered the mainstay of their livelihood, as they work only when they prefer to and not of necessity.
France and Belgium, where the embroidery industry was crippled by the war, are coming back into the field, but it is a question whether they will ever again be able to compete with the Philippine Islands in the quality and price of goods. The Filipinos also excel in fine art work done on piña (pineapple fabric) and silk.
In the Philippines, embroidery is a part of the curriculum of all the schools, so that every girl student learns how to embroider from an early age.
Girls Embroidery, Paco Intermediate School, Manila