540 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



We have not the exports for 1911, but 

 according to official returns the total value of 

 the copra shipped from the Port of Zamboanga 

 in 1911 was P 568,806 (say ,56,806) against 

 ,54,122 in 1910. 



Besides the above, large numbers of the 

 palms are utilized exclusively for the sap, from 

 which is made a distilled drink similar to 

 the arrack of India and elsewhere. 1 This 

 drink is different to tuba or toddy, which must 

 be consumed within twenty-four hours at the 

 most. The sap is obtained by cutting the top 

 of a flower-spathe " before it has any fruit, and 

 thence the liquor which was to feed its fruit 

 runs into the calabash hung to receive it. 

 This will continue almost as long as the fruit 

 would have been growing, and then it dries 

 away. 2 The tree has usually three fruitful 

 branches, which, if all are tapped, then no fruit 

 is obtained that year ; but if only one or two 

 are tapped, the other will bear fruit all the 

 while." Thus reports Dampier as far back as 

 1686, and the system employed by the natives 

 is much the same to-day. Quoting Cleghorn, 

 in Sir George Watt's " Economic Products of 

 India," we learn that the method employed 

 in Madras is as follows : " When the spathe 



1 See June (1911) issue of the Journal of Science, 

 Manila, for Dr. Gibbs' report on the production of 

 palm wine and alcohol from the coco-nut. 



2 See note on page 542, and also 544 regarding -the 

 time this should take. 



