COCO-NUT PRODUCTS 171 



The method of obtaining the sap differs with the 

 different palms. In the case of the coco-nut the sap is 

 obtained from the unopened inflorescence. The first step 

 in securing it is to bend the inflorescence down so that 

 the sap will drip freely from the cut end. This bending 

 must be done slowly and carefully in order that the 

 stem of the inflorescence may not be broken. The 

 operation begins when the inflorescence is 45 to 75 

 centimetres long, in general when its length is about 

 60 centimetres. The toddy-collector recognizes as a 

 mere matter of general judgment the proper condition 

 for the beginning of this work. If a rule is called for 

 in the Philippines, that given is that an inflorescence is 

 ready for the bending to begin when the next younger 

 inflorescence has about reached the length of 10 centi- 

 metres. The bending is done two or three times a 

 day, the tip being drawn downward a very little each 

 time, and the whole operation requiring one or two 

 weeks. When the bending down is more than half 

 done the tip of the inflorescence is removed with a 

 sharp knife, enough being cut off so that the upper 

 ends of the younger branches of the panicle are also cut. 



In Java it is customary to remove at the same 

 time the entire bract (the spathe) which enclosed the 

 panicle, but this is not done in the Philippines, Ceylon, 

 or India. If this is done, it is obviously necessary to 

 tie the branches of the panicle very firmly, so that they 

 may not spread out at all. In Ceylon and India it is 

 customary to bind the bract very firmly by taking a 

 thong and winding it around the inflorescence, working 

 from the base upward, and putting in a knot each 

 time that the thong goes around the spathe. This is 

 sometimes done in the Philippines, but is not a general 

 practice, to prevent such a growth of the inflorescence 

 as would burst the spathe. It is also the practice in 

 Ceylon and India to pound the cut end and the outside 

 of the bract with a bone or piece of hard wood. The 

 beating bruises the cut surface and contributes to the 

 production of the condition of the wound which will 



