xii. a. 2 Brill, Parker, and Yates: Copra and Coconut Oil 77 



Table XVI. — Water content of tapahan-dried copra. 



1 21.57 



2 25.57 



3 28.77 



4 25.98 



5 20.52 



6 25.54 



7 28.51 



The samples noted in Table XVI were obtained from the 

 copra from seven tapahans at the completion of the drying 

 process. The very high moisture percentage indicates imper- 

 fect drying, a condition most favorable for mold growth and 

 bacterial action with the attending deterioration of the copra. 

 After the first handling and drying to only approximately one 

 half the original moisture contents, these samples were dirty 

 and smoky in appearance. Complete drying by the tapahan 

 method, a proceeding probably never carried out in practice 

 by the producers, requires about four days and gives a very 

 •badly smoked product. The uneven heating obtained on the 

 tapahan is a bad feature of the method in that the pieces directly 

 in contact with the grill are overheated and dry much more 

 rapidly than the upper layers. This is especially true in cases 

 where the half nuts are piled up several layers deep. The ta- 

 pahan is so constructed that it favors uneven drying and much 

 smoking of the copra. It consists of a pit, dug in the ground 

 to the depth of 3 meters, connected at the bottom by a narrow 

 underground tunnel to the heat chamber. The heat chamber, 

 is approximately 2 meters wide and 6 meters long, the dimen- 

 sions varying, with the bottom sloping down to meet the tunnel. 

 It is covered with a plaited mat of bamboo or rattan, or in some 

 cases with stripes of split bamboo, upon which the half nuts are 

 piled. Shells, and sometimes husks as well, are burned in the 

 bottom of the pit, the heat and smoke passing through the pile 

 of copra. An attempt was made to improve a "tapahan" by 

 providing it with a chimney and a special fire box. By burning 

 only shells, much of the smoke was eliminated, but the copra 

 was unevenly dried. 



Even with these two existing methods a better grade of 

 copra could be prepared than is now the case in the Philippines if 

 proper care were exercised in handling the product. By using 

 sundrying in conjunction with the tapahan, a more evenly dried 

 product could be obtained. In the southern islands, where the 

 drying could be carried on entirely by the sun's heat, the 

 precautions necessary would be to keep the copra free from 



