Philippine Mats

Philippine Mats, by the Philippines Bureau of Education, is a bulletin reprinted from The Philippine Craftsman and meant to place in the hands of teachers a convenient manual for use in giving instruction in this important branch of industrial work. The foreword says the bulletin contains directions for the preparation of materials for mat making, with suggestive color schemes for these materials and details for weaving a number of approved Philippine designs.

The text says the leaves of a plant, Memecylon edule, are commonly used in mordanting buri straw before dyeing it with sappan wood. The text also says that artificial dyes have driven the natural vegetable dyes out of use because they are cheaper and are more easily applied. The text names P. utilissimus as growing wild throughout the plateau region of Majayjay, Luisiana, and Cavinti in Laguna Province, and says that a pandan grows best in the half-shade near streams, while leaves grown in the sun are considered inferior.