1 66 SUGAR 



Nipa fruticans has already been mentioned. This is a 

 swamp palm growing almost tip to its crown in water, 

 in marshy places by the sea. 



Caryota urens, the Indian sago palm, is used to a small 

 extent in Madras, and on the Malabar Coast has been 

 credited with enormous sugar yields. 



Arenga saccharifera seems to be commonly used in the 

 Dutch East Indies for sugar production. 



Method of Sugar Production. 







The sugary juice is obtained from the young in- 

 florescence in the case of the above palms, with the 

 exception of Phoenix sylvestris, whose stem is tapped 

 just below the crown of leaves. Fuller details of the 

 tapping process are given in my Memoir. 



Amount and Nature of Sugars in the Juice. 



With the exception of Gibbs's work on Nipa, and my 

 own work on Phoenix sylvestris, very little reliable data 

 as to the sugar content of the juices of various palms is 

 on record. The Nipa contains 16 to 17 grams of cane 

 sugar per 100 c.c. of juice, and Phoenix sylvestris only 

 contains 10 to 12 grams of cane sugar per 100 c.c. of juice 

 as a rule. If the juice of Phoenix sylvestris be obtained 

 under sterile conditions, I have shown that the only sugar 

 present is cane sugar. 



As drawn by the natives, Phoenix sylvestris juice con- 

 tains many yeasts and bacteria, and inversion rapidly 

 takes place. It is interesting to note the Phcenix juice 

 is distinctly alkaline to litmus, and Gibbs has observed 

 the same fact in the case of the Nipa. 



A few odd analyses I have made of Borassus juice 

 would seem to indicate that the sugar content is about 

 14 to 16 grams of cane sugar per 100 c.c. of juice. 



Yield of Sugar per Tree and per Acre. 



Work carried on throughout the palm sugar season 

 in Jessore District, Bengal, shows that the cultivator, 

 by his crude methods, obtains an average of about 23 Ib. 

 of raw sugar per tree per season in the case of Phoenix 



