XII, D, 4 Seale: Sea Products of Mindanao and Sulu 209 



and should dry quickly like a hard-boiled egg. They are slit 

 open with a sharp-pointed knife, and the entrails are removed.^ 

 They are next placed in the sun and left until almost dry and 

 then transferred to a smoke house * and smoked for about twenty- 

 four hours. The smoked trepang are spread on a mat in the 

 sun until perfectly dry. Finally they are packed in bags. Tre- 

 pang are prone to collect moisture, and if kept for three or four 

 weeks they must be again spread out and dried in the sun to 

 prevent molding. I found that if a small amount of sulphur 

 was burned in the smoke house a short time before the smoking 

 process was finished it prevented this mold from making its 

 appearance for a long time. However, we have yet to learn if 

 the slight sulphur flavor would affect the price. 



Numerous complaints have been received from Hongkong and 

 Singapore dealers that the Philippine trepang was not well pre- 

 pared and that it was for the most part a third-grade product, 

 which brought a third-grade price. The remedy for this lies 

 in following the instructions given above and in securing more 

 of the better varieties of trepang. The Moros do not exercise 

 enough care in curing this product, and as the better varieties 

 are in deep water and more difficult to collect, they are content 

 to gather such trepang as come easily to hand. The Moros cure 

 the trepang by drying and smoking it on a stick thrust through 

 the body of the animal. When scarcely more than half cured, 

 it is offered for sale. 



A wholesome soup can be prepared from trepang as follows : 

 Clean, wash, and mince fine ; soak in cold water five hours ; boil 

 for one hour ; add salt, pepper, butter, and some beef or chicken 

 stock. Serve hot or iced. 



HABITS AND FOOD OF TREPANG AND THE POSSIBILITIES OF CULTIVATING THEM 



Trepang are very sedentary animals, moving very slowly and 

 for but short distances. Some species prefer the lagoons 

 of coral reefs, others live on the sandy bottom just outside the 

 reef, while a few kinds are found only in deep water. The food 

 of the trepang consists of small larvse and animals, chiefly Foram- 

 inifera, or of sea plants, which it abstracts from the prodi- 

 gious quantity of sand that passes through its alimentary 

 canal. Some species secure in this manner great quantities of 



' Small trepang are seldom gutted in the Philippines. 



' A packing box, a barrel, or a smoke house made with mat sides will 

 answer the purpose. The trepang must be placed at a distance from the 

 fire, which should never burn brightly but simply smoulder. 



