g Mats.

Tikug also grows in large quantities in Leyte. Its chief use there
is in the weaving of matting on a crude loom, an adaptation of the
common textile loom.

Tikug is apparently generally used throughout Surigao in making
mats. The best mats of this region come from the upper Agusan and the
island of Dinagat. They are usually made for local consumption, though
the people of Dinagat exchange their mats with Bohol traders. The
sedge grows in great abundance in the lake of Talacogon near the town
of the same name in Agusan.

Tikug is also found in many parts of the Moro Province. It abounds
in the swamp lands of the Lanao region, from which mats are exported
via Iligan. If it is to be colored, the straws are soaked in water
for about two days, after which they are cooked in the boiling
dye. Bleached straw is prepared by exposing it to the sun, after
which the material is polished and flattened at the same time by
rubbing the stalks with ashes, between the fingers.

The Cultivation of Tikug.

The question of the cultivation of tikug is one of considerable
importance. It is a well known fact that the finest Leghorn hat
straw is produced in Italy by sewing wheat closely and reaping the
straw before the grain ripens. The best mat straws of China and
Japan are produced from cultivated sedges. The Bureau of Education
is therefore encouraging experiments in the cultivation of tikug,
but as yet these have not been extensive enough to determine whether
the sedge can be propagated for industrial purposes. There are no
data as to cost. A quantity of seed was procured and forwarded to
various parts of the Islands in which tikug had not been reported
as growing. These were sent out to various persons with the idea of
determining (1) soils suitable to the plant, (2) whether it could be
cultivated in the rice paddies between harvest and planting, (3) how
closely the seeds should be planted, (4) how old the plants should be
at harvest. [33] No results have as yet been obtained from the seeds
so sent out. Fair results, however, have been realized in Samar, where
approximately 5,000 stalks were grown to the square foot in very rich
soil fertilized with manure secured from the military stables. The
straws obtained were 3 meters long. It was found that the thicker
the seeds are planted the finer and longer are the straws obtained.

Reports differ as to whether tikug should be considered a pest or
not. In Leyte it is stated