176 



THE COCO-NUT 



CHAP. 



Sample 

 No. 



Flow 

 from one 

 flower- 

 stalk 

 during 

 the night. 



Density 

 -15° 

 15° 



Total 

 solids. 



Ash. 



Polariza- 

 tion at 

 30°. 



Sucrose 

 in 100 

 cu. cm. 



Invert 

 sugar. 



Preservative 

 employed. 





ce. 

















1 



665 



1-0675 



17-75 



0-38 



15-02 



15-66 



0-87 



1 cc. formalin 



2 



635 



1-0686 



18-08 



0-40 



14-28 



14-99 



1-78 





3 



575 



1-0670 



17-25 



0-34 



14-92 



15-55 



0*39 



1 g. HgCl 2 



4 



470 



1-0683 



17-97 



0-36 



15-23 



15-89 







5 



360 



1-0670 



17-95 



0-39 



10-75 



12-95 



7 13 



>> 



1 cc. formalin 



6 



360 



1-0670 



17-95 



0-32 



14-12 



14-42 



1-53 





7 



440 



1-0720 



19-13 



0-39 



15-31 



16-02 



0-71 



1 g. HgCl 2 



8 



440 



1-0680 



18-32 



0-47 



14-99 



16-49 



071 





The first four trees in this table were forty years old, 

 and the last four twenty to twenty-five years. Each tree 

 had two flower clusters giving sap at the time the sample 

 was collected. Five of the samples showed no acidity, 

 two contained 0*03 of 1 per cent figured as acetic acid, 

 and one contained 0'08 of 1 per cent. Only one of the 

 samples showed a trace of alcohol. 



From this table, and from some other analyses, 

 Gibbs concludes that perfectly fresh sap may be expected 

 to have about the following composition, stated in 

 grams per 100 cc. 



Density 



1-07 



Total solids . . . . . 



17-5 



Acidity ....... 



Trace 



Ash 



0-40 



Sucrose ....... 



16-5 



Invert sugar ...... 



Trace 



Undetermined nitrogenous compounds, etc. 



0-60 



Keducing sugars are nearly or quite absent in the 

 perfectly fresh sap. 



This sap no sooner falls from the tree than its com- 

 position begins to change ; and if the fermentations in 

 it are not interfered with, they go through a series of 

 which the first is under the influence of an unorganized 

 ferment or enzyme, called invertase. This is formed in 

 the sap in the presence of oxygen, and acts with 

 remarkable speed, so that by the time the toddy is 

 collected from the trees but little sucrose remains, and 



