14 



that the copra maker has not attempted to produce a superior article, 

 preferring to receive a lower price for a product easily prepared with a 

 very small outlay for apparatus. However, since the Philippines are 

 now producing about one-third of the copra of the world, and sincre this 

 percent-age is likely to increase in the near future, it is highly advisable 

 that steps should be taken at once toward the general adoption of arti- 

 ficial dryers in place of the present methods of sun-drying and smoking 

 over the "tapahan." 



The disadvantages of the sun-drying method are : It can be used only 

 during the dry seasons which in most parts of the Philippines are un- 

 certain and of more or less limited duration ; the time required is ex- 

 cessive from an economic standpoint ; the drying is not sufficiently rapid 

 to prevent decay in the copra from the nuts that are more or less im- 

 mature when picked : the space required for spreading out the copra 

 during the drying is deplorably large ; and the material required for 

 constructing suitable drying areas is expensive. 



The disadvantages of the tapahan process are: The creosote and other 

 substances carried in the smoke from the husks and shells peraieat^ the 

 entire mass of the copra "meat" thus rendering it unfit for the higher 

 purposes for which the nnsmoked article may serve, such as butter, 

 edible oils, etc. ; the drying is always more or less uneven, some of the 

 pieces being scorched while others are scarcely half dried at the time 

 of removal ; molding and decay, while en route in bags, is very likely 

 to result from the half-dried copra pieces which are always sure to 

 begin to decay within a few days after removal from the tapahan. A 

 combination of these two methods, as is commonly practiced in the 

 Provinces of Laguna, Tayabas, and others in Luzon, is undoubtedly better 

 than the fapahan method and may be used, of course, during all but 

 the rainiest season of the year, since the length of time during which 

 the partially dried material from the tapahan must be spread out in the 

 sun is reduced considerably. 



The advantages of the modern artificial methods are: The absolutely 

 smokeless quality of the t^finished product; the small amount of time 

 required for turning out a completely desiccated article: the far better 

 keeping qualities on board ship or in storage; the very superior appear- 

 ance of the artificially dried material (in being free from mold, earth, 

 etc.) ; the obviation of danger to grinding apparatus from gravel, sand, 

 etc., which almost always is found adhering to the sun-dried product. 



There are now several stj'les of artificial driers on the market ; the 

 capacity and system — that is, whether rotary cylinders or sliding trays — 

 to be adopted on a plantation will depend upon the local conditions and 

 inclination of the proprietors. 



