THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Science 



A. Chemical and Geological Sciences 

 and the Industries 



Vol. VIII DECEMBER, 1913 No. 6 



THE NIPA PALM AS A COMMERCIAL SOURCE OF SUGAR 



A CONSIDERATION OF THE PRINCIPAL DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED IN 

 COLLECTING AND PRESERVING NIPA-PALM SAP 



By D. S. Pratt, L. W. Thurlow, R. R. Williams, and H. D. Gibbs ' 



(From the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Bureau of Science, 

 Manila, P. I.) 



The nipa palm, Nipa fructicans Wurmb., covers large areas 

 of swamp land in various parts of the tropics. The requirements 

 for its growth and proper development are few, consisting of 

 low river land subject to periodic overflow by brackish tide 

 water. Large areas of this character, covered almost exclusively 

 with the nipa palm, exist in several provinces throughout the 

 Philippine Islands. At the present time the sap exuded by the 

 flower stalk when it is cut is utilized on a large scale as a com- 

 mercial source of alcohol. 



The manufacture of nipa alcohol and the distribution of the 

 palm in the Islands have been investigated, and preliminary 

 experiments by one of us 2 on the manufacture of sugar have 



1 Associate professor of Chemistry, University of the Philippines. — 

 Editor. 



'Gibbs, H. D., This Journal, Sec. A (1911), 6, 99-206. At that time ex- 

 periments on a commercial scale seemed impossible for the reason that no 

 modern sugar mill existed on Luzon. This difficulty was removed by the 

 construction of a 10-ton mill at Muntinlupa, Rizal Province, 33 kilometers 

 by railroad south of Manila. A description of this mill has been published 

 in This Journal, Sec. A (1912), 7, 357, by Thurlow and Pratt. 



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