196 GIBBS. 



The fibers and the outside of the trunk, fonning a sort of outer bark, 

 are called cabo negro (Spanish) in the Philippines and eju or gomuta in 

 other parts of Malaya and India. It is used as a thatch and for cables 

 and ropes. This fiber is prized because of its power of resisting decay, 

 and natives have stated to me that the roofs made from it will last for 

 one hundred years. Be this as it may, there is no doubt but that the 

 fiber is in great demand in some sections and is very durable. A roof 

 of about 144 square meters costs, in Laguna Province, at least 50 pesos 

 (25 dollars United States currency) when obtainable. The sap is highly 

 prized by the Filipinos and is drunk both fresh and femiented. Little 

 or none is distilled. Some crude sugar is produced from it, principally 

 on the Island of Mindoro. 



THE SAP. 

 USES. 



Watt^' states that in Java the palm is chiefly cultivated for its sap, from 

 which a wine, and also sugar and vinegar are prepared, and that the wine is 

 used by the Chinese residing in the Indian islands for the preparation of the 

 celebrated Batavian arrack. 



The crude process employed in Java for the manufacture of sugar is described 

 by Dr. J. E. de Vry,^ as follows : 



"As soon as the palm begins to blossom, they cut off the part of the stem that 

 bears the flower; there flows from the cut a sap containing sugar, which they 

 collect in tubes made of bamboo cane, previously exposed to smoke, in order to 

 prevent the fermentation of the juice, which, without this precaution, would take 

 place very quickly under the double influence of the heat of the climate and the 

 presence of a nitrogenous matter. 



"The juice thus obtained is immediately poured into shallow iron basins, 

 heated by fire and is thickened by evaporation, till a drop falling on a cold 

 surface solidifies; this degree of coneentation attained, the contents of the kettle 

 are put in forms of great prismatic lozenges. Several thousand pounds of sugar 

 are thus obtained yearly." 



This MTiter found the sap to contain sucrose and suggests that it is a logical 

 source of sugar, since the palm thrives upon ground unfit for the production of 

 other crops. He estimates that 0.303 hectare will produce 2,400 kilos of sugar 

 yearly and that the only unfavorable factor is the age which the tree must attain 

 before the yield begins. 



Watt^° gives the estimate quoted by Simmonds at 6,000 pounds per acre and 

 .Jumelle, in speaking of the yield of sago, states that about 400 trees can be 



. 'Uhid. "^Watt. Ihid. ''Ibid.. 92. 



