116 GIBBS. 



Watt™ states that Luiscliaten, nearly 300 years ago, in his Account of a 

 Voyage to the East Indies, mentioned that the toddy obtained from the spathe 

 of the nipa palm yielded an excellent wine. 



About seventy years ago, according to native story in Bulacan, it was observed 

 that rats (some people say deer) seemed to be very fond of eating the broken 

 or crushed fruit stalks of the nipa palm injured by roaming carabaos. It was 

 found on investigation that the bruised places exuded a sweet juice which could 

 be made to flow more plentifully by cutting the stalks, and Avhich was , found 

 to be a pleasant beverage. It fermented very rapidly and was drunk by the 

 natives both in the fresh, sweet state and after fermenting. 



Another story which is told among the natives, is that the discoveiy of the 

 properties of the nipa palm is due to an accidental severing of the peduncle while 

 an old man was cutting wood for kindling. He noticed the clear liquid which 

 exuded and as he was thirsty at the moment he applied his lips to the cut and 

 found that the sap was very sweet and fresh. A very long time after, the distilla- 

 tion of the sap was practiced. 



The first firm to take advantage of these discoveries on a commercial basis 

 was that of Ayala and Company. In 1834 they built distilleries in San Esteban, 

 Pampanga, and in Manila, and equipped them with apparatus of French manu- 

 facture. Prior to that time the ancient caua, a crude distilling apparatus manu- 

 factured from a hollow log and bamboo tubing, was employed. The apparatus 

 and buildings are still in use and it is possible that some of the first plants 

 tapped by Ayala and Company are still j)roducing tuba. 



Tapping the palm. — Since the nipa sends its inflorescence up from 

 the base and hence is near the ground, the flower stalk is conveniently 

 situated for the gathering of the sap. Four years after planting the 

 seed, the nipa bears small fruits, but it is not tapped for its tuba until 

 the fifth year. Some time after the fruit has formed, the stalk is cut 

 across near its top, usually just below the fruit, and each day a thin slice 

 is removed to keep the wound fresh and to facilitate exudation.^^ When 

 a plant bears two flower stalks the usual practice is to draw sap from only 

 one, the other being removed and the stem allowed to dry up. 



The sap is collected in bamboo joints, called tuquils (Pampangan) or 

 bombones (Spanish), which are hung upon the stem. The receptacles 

 are about 45 centimeters high and 8 centimeters in diameter and. have 

 a capacity of about 2 liters. 



One stalk normally flows for about three months, but it is not uncom- 

 mon for it to be entirely cut away, at least so close to the ground that 

 it can no longer be utilized by the daily paring of small slices to keep 

 the wound fresh, long before the flow has ceased. In some districts the 



^"Dictionary of Economic Products of India, London and Calcutta (1891), 

 5, 430. 



^^ According to native superstition the stalk must be kicked, in passing, once 

 a week for five weeks, before it is cut or the sap will not flow freely. In some 

 localities this practice is performed three times a Aveek for five weeks. In 

 reality this is a process of bending down the flower stalk so that the tuba issuing 

 from it can more easily be collected in the bamboo receptacles. The yield is 

 supposed to be increased on shaking and bruising the stalk. 



