62 



The Philippine Journal of Science 



Well-dried copra neither became hot nor evolved carbon dioxide 

 when piled in storage, demonstrating that this combustion is 

 due to the presence of higher quantities of moisture together with 

 the consequent action of the mold. 



Various factors enter into the analysis of copra from the point 

 of view of oil loss. Curiously, only in exceptionally bad copra 

 is the percentage of oil found materially lower than would be 

 expected in good copra. This is due to the fact that both meat 

 and oil are attacked by the microorganisms lowering the total 

 weight of the sample. Therefore it is necessary that the total 

 weight of the oil in the original piece of fresh meat be known 

 in order that the percentage of total loss may be calculated 

 from the actual weight of oil before and after deterioration. 



Table VI shows the apparent loss of oil calculated from the 

 percentages and the true loss in oil for the same piece of copra 

 and clearly illustrates our statement above. 



Table VI. — Oil losses in copra calculated on oil percentages and on total 

 oil content. 



Dry meat before mold action, calcula- 

 ted. grams. 



Dry meat after mold action do... 



Oil in dry meat before mold action. .per cent. 

 Oil in dry meat after mold action, calcula- 

 ted per cent- 

 Total oil before mold action, calcula- 

 ted grams. 



Total oil after mold action do 



Apparent loss of oil from percent- 

 ages - per cent- 

 True loss of oil do... 



9. 1645 

 6. 3465 



11.7834 

 10. 2104 

 67.5 



.951.1 

 . 6846 



16. 1955 



13.3213 



14. 4030 



11.9880 



66.8 



66.8 



47.1 



46.7 



10.8156 



8.8744 



6.7880 



5.6010 



19.7 



20.1 



37.2 



36.8 



The above results conclusively show that the true loss of oil 

 is very much greater than the apparent. The apparent change 

 does not take into account the weight of the fiber destroyed; 

 consequently the apparent loss is always smaller than the true loss 

 and in certain instances might appear negligible or that there 

 had been a synthesis of oil by mold growth. Indeed Walker, 11 in 

 some experiments where he did not take this factor into consid- 

 eration, obtained results which indicate a synthesis of oil by 

 microorganisms. Such results show the worthlessness of data 



Op. cit., 117. 



