EDITORIAL. 93 



The greater percentage of moisture in tlie fine coal is probably ac- 

 counted for by the phenomena of adsorption. The finer the coal the 

 larger the surface exposed and consequently the greater the cjfuantity of 

 water abstracted from the air and held upon its surface. 



Alviit J. Cox. 



STARCH PRODUCTION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 



The cassava plant (Mmiihot utilissima Pohl) is foimd in all parts of 

 the Philippines. The Tagalog name is camoting cahoy. In the northern 

 islands the tubers are extensively used by the natives as a food during 

 times of need^ vrhile with the Moros it forms a staple article of diet. As 

 all Philippine varieties of the plant contain considerable quantities of 

 hydrocyanic acid, the tubers are not used as extensively for stock food 

 as they should be, for the natives generally do not understand how to 

 treat the plant so as to remove this poisonous acid. The problem of 

 obtaining a good and cheap stock food is an exceedingly important one in 

 the Philippines. Nothing appears to me so promising as cassava and the 

 covrpea. The two plants should be grown together. The greatest demand 

 which cassava makes on the soil is in nitrogen, which the cowpea supplies. 

 By a suitable combination of the cowpea, rich in nitrogenous substances, 

 the cassava roots, rich in carbohydrates, and coconut oil-cake, rich in 

 fats, it is a simple matter to make \vp a first-class, well-balanced stock 

 food. All these substances can easily be made available in the Philip- 

 pines, so there is no necessity for the importation into the Islands of 

 stock food from foreign countries. If the cassava is planted for its 

 starch, or for alcohol manufacture, some other quick-growing legimie such 

 as mungo or peanuts, could be planted, with it. These crops will not only 

 pay well in themselves and add nitrogen to the soil, but they serve the 

 further purpose of keeping out the weeds until the cassava is able to take 

 care of itself. 



"With this introduction as to the best methods of handling cassava, it 

 may be stated that in this plant the Philippines*has the cheapest source 

 of starch in the world, and there is only one other substance which at 

 the present time seems able to compete with it as a source of alcohol, 

 a product of which there is a large native supply, namely, the molasses 

 residue from the crystallization of cane sugar. The cheapest alcohol 

 manufactured on any large scale to-day comes from tbis source, being 

 made in Cuba and Brazil and sold for 10 ceuls a gallon. Until the 

 methods of alcohol manufacture from cellulose substances (sawdust, etc.) 

 are perfected, the Philippines has in great quantity the t"W'o cheapest raw 

 products for alcohol manufacture. 



There are no reliable data on the right yield of cassava in the Philip- 

 pines. In Mississippi and Florida, on good ground, 10 tons of roots are 



