21,1 Cole: Manufacture of Industrial Alcohol 45 
The time allowed for fermentation varies from thirty hours to 
three days. It has been shown that even thirty hours is too 
long, much of the alcohol being changed into acetic acid by that 
time. Most of the large distilleries now ferment a mixture of 
molasses and nipa, the latter usually containing enough inver- 
tase and wild yeast to change the sugar in the molasses rapidly 
to alcohol. Molasses thus becomes a cheap source of alcohol 
and the distillery is often able to operate during the entire 
year, even during the season of small sap production. At cer- 
tain seasons of the year, however, the nipa sap seems to have 
a detrimental effect on the production of alcohol from molasses, 
only 1 or 2 per cent of alcohol being obtained. This is due to 
the killing of the yeast by the acid bacteria. In some distilleries 
no attempt is made to check fermentation at the highest alcohol 
content: This means that, while the wash is stored before 
going to the still, a loss of alcohol occurs due to acid fermenta- 
tion. In some cases, the high acidity of the beer is neutralized 
by lime made on the spot by burning oyster and other shells. 
Fermentation can be checked at the proper moment by the 
addition of an excess of lime to the wash, and then the latter 
can be stored without appreciable change to await its turn to 
be run to the stills. 
Distillation.—Distillation is usually accomplished in either 
pot stills or continuous rectifying stills, the former usually 
heated directly by wood or wood and coal fires, the latter by 
steam coils. The first distillate from the pot stills is collected 
until it has the requisite percentage of alcohol (20 to 50) desired 
for beverage purposes. The distillation is further continued 
until most of the alcohol has passed over. The pot is then 
emptied and the second fraction poured back to form part of 
the next run. ; 
The continuous stills give alcohol up to 100° proof. The 
rectifying stills yield an alcohol as high as 190° proof. The 
losses that occur are largely in the waste which contains some- 
times as high as 1 per cent of alcohol. 
- THE COCONUT PALM 
é 
The cultivation of the coconut palm and methods of obtaining 
the sap from it are fully described by Gibbs.** Large numbers 
or palms are utilized exclusively for their sap, which is made 
into the native drink vino de coco. This is a misnomer, for 
“8 Op. cit. 147. 
