172 GIBBS. 



substance they make from it a sort of flour which is tlieir food. For this reason 

 they do not sow much rice, althougli they have rice fields." 



The only uses which give any promise of commercial possibilities, 

 outside of the manufacture of hat^ '« from the fiber, are the production 

 of sugar and alcohol from the sap, and starch from the trunk. The 

 production of sugar, alcohol, and starch are considered in this article. 

 At present, all of these uses are only of minor local importance and give 

 little promise of future development into industries of gi-eat magnitude. 



THE SAP. 

 METHODS FOR PRODUCING SAP FLOW. 



The sap is obtained in two different ways which are outlined below. 

 However, in a number of places the natives seem only to be familiar 

 with the fh-st method and can not be made to believe that the second 

 way is feasible, so firmly rooted is custom. A possible third method is 

 also described. 



First method. — The inflorescence is cut across near its base and for 

 protection agaimst the sun and rain a small roof made of leaves is fas- 

 tened in place. Large quantities of sap exude from the wound. It is 

 collected by running into a small earthen jar. 



Second method. — In Tayabas and some other provinces, the natives 

 do not wait for the flowering period to tap the trees for the tuba, as they 

 state that the sap will flow from some trees at any time. The trees are 

 stripped of their leaves, the top is bound with bamboo hoops eight or 

 ten centimeters apart for a distance of about one meter down and is 

 then cut off so that the heart of the trees is exposed. This top surface 

 is cut and channeled, producing a clean tissue which is continually ex- 

 posed to the air, but protected from the sun by a covering of leaf thatch. 

 In three or foui" days, sometimes at once, the sap begins to flow steadily 

 and rapidly. Buri palms in process of producing sap are illustrated in 

 Plates XV and XVI. 



I'nlike the nipa and coconut plams, which bear tapping year after 

 year for long periods, the buri completes its life history with its one 

 flowering season and, when either of the first two methods is pursued, 

 it can be tapped but a single season for sap. 



Third method. — It is possible that sap may be obtained by the method 

 of tapping sometimes employed in India on the Palmyra palm, Borassus 

 flabellifer Linn. Xear the apex the outer layers are removed from a 

 triangular space the dimensions of which are about twenty centimeters 

 on each side. The sap flows from this place when the surface is kept 

 fresh by frequent cutting. "When one place is sufficiently ciit away a 

 fresh area can be opened. This method has not been tried to my knowl- 



" Tlie manufacture of hats is an industry of much local importance in some 

 places. The to\vn of Lucban, Tayabas Province, produces about 5,000 per week. 

 See Robinson, This Journal, Sec. C (1911), 6, 115. 



