THE ALCOHOL INDUSTRY. PART I. 153 



The practice in the Philippines is about as described by Cleghorn 

 and by Molisch except that the inflorescences are never deprived of the 

 spathe. The flowing sap is caught in a receptacle, usually a joint of 

 bamboo, and is gathered at morning and at night. At the time of 

 collection, a thin slice is cut from the spathe in order to keep the wound 

 fresh and open, or otherwise it would heal and the flow of the sap cease. 



The process of collecting the tuba from the coconut, because of the 

 height of the trees, entails more labor than with the nipa and other 

 palms, the inflorescences of which are closer to the ground. To facili- 

 tate the labor of gathering tuba from the coconut palms, the usual 

 practice is to attach bamboo poles from tree top to tree top, forming 

 bridges upon which the collector can pass without descending to the 

 ground, until his receptacle is full. (See Plates X and XI.) Since 

 the coconut blossoms throughout the year, the tuba season is continuous, 

 and when one stalk is exhausted, another is tapped to take its place. 

 The number of stalks on any one tree tapped at one time seldom, if 

 ever, exceeds three and is usually less. 



The natives in some parts of the Islands plant a special coconut for the 

 production of sap. This variety produces a small, hard nut, has a shorter trunk 

 and is supposed to give a greater flow of sap of a better quality. The life of 

 the tree is supposed to be shortened when it is used for continuous sap produc- 

 tion, although Safford^" states: 



"The extraction of tuba does not injure the trees in any way, but the cutting 

 of leaves causes injuries from which it takes years to recover." 



THE YIELD OE S^VP. 



The flow of sap from each inflorescence varies during the age of the 

 flower stalk and is stated by the natives to be less during the heat of 

 the day than at night, an assertion which is shown by my investigations 

 ; to have some foundation. There are variations due to the age and 

 condition of the tree, the character of the soil and the climatic con- 

 ditions. The daily yield is variously estimated. 



Cleghorn" states that forty trees yield about 12 Madras measures (IJ to 2 

 gallons), 5.68 to 7.57 liters daily, 1 measures in the morning and 5 in the 

 evening, equivalent to about 200 cubic centimeters per day for each tree. 



Schortt^^ says that the yield will vary according to the locality of the tree 

 and the age of the spathe; 3 or 4 quarts (2.84 to 3.79 liters) is the average 

 quantity obtained in 24 hours for a fortnight or three weeks. 



In Ratn^giri, India, the yield is said to vary from 35 to 64 imperial gallons 



^"Gont. U. S. Nat. Herb. (1906), 9, 243. 



"Watt, Greorge, A Dictionary of Economic Products of India, Calcutta (1889), 

 2, 449. 



" Watt, Ibid., 450. 



