154 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
sugar has been collected by the natives of the Philippines, 
Malaya, and India for local consumption for many years, but 
the yield was not regarded as sufficient for commercial pur- 
poses. Investigation soon demonstrated, however, that a de- 
plorable waste of material in palm sugars was largely re- 
sponsible for the inadequate results obtained from the crops 
of the tropics. India now is increasing its production of 
sugar from the, extensive semi-cultivated groves of the wild 
date (Phoenix sylvestris) of Bengal and the palmyra (Boras- 
sus flabelliformis) of southern India and Ceylon. The United 
States Department of Agriculture stations in the Philippines 
are experimenting with four well-known palms, which, with 
the use of modern machinery, ought to increase greatly the 
production of sugar. The cocoanut palm (Cocos nucifera) 
will produce sugar, but its present economic product of copra 
is too valuable to be replaced by anything else. 
The ‘‘kaong’’ or sugar palm in the Cavite province of 
the Philippine Islands begins to flower in six years, providing 
the tree has plenty of room for development. It is not strictly 
a jungle species, but prefers the banks of mountain streams, 
margins of forests, and partially open hillsides. The fiber 
which surrounds the trunk is a soft, shining, brownish black 
substance mixed with masses of strong needle-like spines. The 
presence of this fiber is responsible for the plant’s local Span- 
ish name ‘‘cabonegro’’ or ‘‘blackhead.’’ Economically, this 
inner fiber is valued in commerce for rope-making because of 
its resistance to salt water, withstanding alternate wetting and 
drying or continued exposure, and is superior to any other 
fiber. It is known in commerce as ‘‘gamuti’’ or ‘‘eju.’’ The 
seeds when fully matured are occasionally used in desserts, 
being prepared by boiling in sugar and_adding spices or other 
flavoring substances. The outer pulp-like covering, or peri- 
earp, enclosing the three hard-shelled seeds, contains needle- 
like irritating crystals which cause severe itching when 
brought in contact with the skin. Both bats and wild pigs 
feed upon the yellow fruits. 
COLLECTION OF SAP FOR SUGAR 
The natives usually follow traditional customs in tapping 
and managing the flower spikes. Only the male spikes are 
selected for sap collection, and after these are ‘‘spotted’’ they 
are ‘‘beaten’’ or ‘‘pulled’’ mornings and evenings for a 
period of three weeks. This is accomplished by jerking the 
spikes when low enough, or when high tying to them long 
strips of bamboo to enable the tapper to perform this jerking 
