174 SOQAEY SAP. 



CHAPTEE VII.— EXUDED PRODUCTS. 



These are very numerous and of extreme importance. They may, 

 tor our purpose, be divided into (I) sugary sap, (2) gums, resins, 

 and varnishes, and (3) rubbers. 



Section I. — Sugary sap. 



The utilization of such sap is the basis of a very extensive in- 

 dustry. In India, the palms are the only family ■which contain 

 trees that yield sugary sap. Those usually tapped are the cocoa- 

 nut and palmyra palms, the Caryota urens, the Arenga sacchari- 

 fera, the Nipa fruticans, and the wild date palm. The first four 

 yield juice from the cut stalk of the inflorescence before the flow- 

 ers appear, the last from incisions made in the stem at the base of 

 the lower leaves, which are cut off. The sap, or toddy as it is called, 

 of these palms flows in abundance. While it flows it is collected 

 twice a day, the daily yield varying from a pint or two to several 

 gallons. Nearly every spathe may be tapped, and the yield, there- 

 fore, depends on the number of spathes developed or cuts made. 

 The same spathe or cut goes on giving toddy for nearly half the 

 year ; but periodically, about once, twice, or thrice a week, a thin 

 piece has to be sliced off to freshen the wound. In the case of the 

 wild date palm, the sides of the incision are freshened once a day 

 for three days running each week, and the quantity of juice col- 

 lected in the morning after each re-cutting is, in Bengal, respec- 

 tively 16, 6J, and 3 pints. During the three remaining days the 

 outflow is insignificant, and the trees are allowed to rest before 

 being cut again. 



The toddy is largely drunk ; but the greater portion is ferment- 

 ed and made into spirits and vinegar, or boiled down into raw 

 sugar, which is refined at Cossipore in Bengal and in many places 

 in the Madras Presidency. Toddy is nearly as rich in saccharine 

 matters as cane juice, and as, unlike this latter, it is entirely free 

 from colouring matters, chlorophyll and other impurities, the sugar 

 it yields is much easier to clarify. The proportion of gur obtained 



