TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT 33 



practice in cane growing and sugar making, prevailing in various 

 parts of the Philippine Islands, has been collected. Part of this 

 has been published in a monograph of the Bureau of Science, 

 entitled The Sugar Industry in the Island of Negros, by H. S. 

 Walker. 



50. Sugar from palm saps. — It has long been known that a 

 large number of palm trees secrete a sap rich in sugar, and the 

 natives of various countries have taken advantage of this fact 

 to supply themselves with limited amounts of this commodity. 

 No exportation on a commercial scale has been attempted for 

 the reason that it promised no financial returns. 



We have found in the nipa palm, which grows extensively 

 in a number of places in the Philippine Islands, covering large 

 swamp areas which would otherwise be waste, a source of sugar 

 which has been proved to be very attractive from the standpoint 

 of investment. The sap, as it flows from the palm, has ap- 

 proximately the composition of the sap of the sugar cane, and 

 we have developed methods for its collection and preservation 

 during transportation to the refinery. The difficulties en- 

 countered for the establishment of the business upon a large 

 commercial scale have been entirely overcome through our 

 investigations. The results of this work will be published in 

 Section A of The Philippine Journal of Science of this year. 



This marks the establishment of an industry new to the world, 

 and one which will be unique to the Philippine Islands and give 

 employment to a large number of Filipinos. 



51. Alcohol. — Suggestions have been made for increasing the 

 yield of alcohol by improving the existing methods of manu- 

 facture. In extreme cases the present available loss is very 

 high. [The Philippine Journal of Science, Section A (1911), 

 6, 136-206.] 



52. Essential oils and terpenes. — The most important essential 

 oils and terpenes have been studied, and their commercial value 

 discussed. This rather comprehensive investigation has shown 

 that excellent turpentine and colophony (practically identical 

 with those from American pines) may be produced from the 

 plentiful pines of Benguet. The various resins, such as elemi, 

 balao, apitong, and copal, have been investigated both from the 

 scientific standpoint of their chemical composition and from the 

 practical consideration of their use in the manufacture of var- 

 nish etc. The essential oils responsible for the fragrance of 

 many plants and flowers have also received considerable atten- 

 tion. Among these may be mentioned ylang-ylang, champaca, 



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