140 



GIBBS. 



his inclinations, the rate of wage might be considered in most cases 

 fair for six months' labor. Where the tuba gatherer furnishes the uten- 

 sils to carry on the work and builds and repairs the waterways, it is 

 undoubtedly low as a total annual rate and, in many canes, is a bare living. 

 Since he receives the price of one-half of the tuba, and is subject to 

 no expense in gathering and very little for maintenance, the owner of 

 the land is in receipt of a large income from his swamp. A good nipa 

 swamp properl}' cultivated and managed is a very valuable property. I 

 am informed that sales at as high as 1,500 pesos per hectare have been 

 made. 



VINEGAR. 



Analyses by W. C. Holmes and F. Agcaoili. 



Judging from the sucrose content of nipa sap, it is evident that a 

 vinegar of good quality can be maniifactured from the tuba. Three 

 samples of vinegar made from nipa tuba were obtained in the native 

 markets in Manila. The analyses are as follows : 



Table XIV. — Analyses of nipa vinegar. 



Components. 



Number 

 68758. 



Number 

 68759. 



Number 

 68760. 



Total solids 



1.35 

 0.66 



2.03 

 0.72 

 0.03 

 3.23 

 1.20 



1.54 

 0.72 



Ash- 



P2O5 



Acetic acid ._ _ . 



2.17 



8.03 

 3.03 



Alcohol ._ ._ -_ 







The native methods of manufacture are so crude that a good quality 

 of vinegar could not be expected to result therefrom. 



SrGAE. 



The composition of the sap led me to the belief that it could profitably 

 be employed as a source of sugar. The sucrose content of all of the 

 plants which I have investigated ranged from 12.5 to 17.0 per cent and 

 I believe a fair average lies between 14 and 15 per cent. The purity is 

 approximately 90 per cent. 



Collection of sap. — An efficient method for preserving the sap is 

 the first essential. Lime answers the requirement perfectly. Sap col- 

 lected in the bamboo receptacles ordinarily employed by the natives 

 remained unchanged for a longer period than ten days when the recep- 

 tacles, before placing upon the plant stems, were coated on the inside 

 with milk of lime by dipping into a rather thick mixture of lime and 

 water. Since this preservative enables the sap to be collected and trans- 

 ported to the central refinery in an unchanged condition, the principal 



