Edible Products. 



310 



[April 1908. 



merit. The residual dnst and waste from 

 this operation may be used as an sbsorb- 

 ent for liquid manures, and ultimately 

 returned to the plantation. The yield 

 of fibre varies from 12 to 25 quintals of 

 coir and 4 to 7 quintals of brush fibre per 

 10,000 average husks. In the Philippines 

 the nuts yield a large amount of fibre 

 and relatively small percentage of chaff 

 and dust. With improved machinery 

 and careful handling, 18 quintals of 

 spinning coir and 5 quintals of bristle 

 fibre from every 10,000 husks is a fair 

 estimate of the product. 



As the cost of manufacture is generally 

 rated at one-half the selling price, and 

 as we must add a farther charge of 20 

 per cent, to cover freight and commission, 

 we have resulting from the sale of the 

 23 quintals, or 2,300 kilos, at £16 per 

 English ton, a balance of £11 lis. per 

 hectare. 



But there are other considerations 

 which should not be overlooked. The 

 husks of 10,000 coconuts will withdraw 

 from the land 61 '5 kilos of potash and 3 

 kilos ot phosphoric acid, and the re- 

 storation of the full amount is called for 

 to compensate for the growing wants of 

 the tree, in addition to that withdrawn 

 by the crop. The necessary fertilizers 

 are worth, approximately, 5|d. per kilo, 

 making a further reduction of £1 8s., and 

 leaving as a net profit £10 3s. or, reduced 

 to American money, nearly $50 gold per 

 hectare- 



The machines above referred to will 

 cost $800, gold, and $1,200 additional 

 will purchase and house the power 

 necessary to operate them. Such a plant 

 will work up 1,000 nuts a day. and handle 

 in a year the output of a grove of 30 

 hectares. With the addition of two or 

 more fibre extractors the capacity of the 

 plant may be doubled without material 

 expense, and it should rather more than 

 pay its entire cost in one year. 



Tuba, 



Tuba is the fresh or mildly fermented 

 sap drawn from the inflorescence of the 

 coconut. 



There are no figures or data of any 

 kind available as a basis for an estimate 

 as to the importance of this product, 

 but its extent may be inferred from the 

 fact that the outlying groves about 

 Cebu, iloilo, and the larger Visayan 

 towns are practically devoted to the 

 production of tuba, and not to the manu- 

 facture of copra. 



Tuba is collected from the unexpanded 

 blossoms as soon as they have fairly 

 pushed through the subtending bracts. 

 "To prevent any lateral expansion, the 



flowers are tied with strips of the green 

 leaf blade, and then, with a sharp knife, 

 an inch or two of the extreme tip is 

 removed. The whole flower cluster is 

 now gently pulled forward until it 

 arches downward. In a day or two the 

 sap begins to drip and is then caught in 

 a short joint of bamboo, properly secured 

 for the purpose. 



As a healthy tree develops at least one 

 or more flowering racemes every month, 

 and the flow of sap extends frequently 

 over a period of two or more months, it 

 is not uncommon to see a number of 

 tubes in use upon one tree. 



The workmen usually visit the tree 

 twice daily to collect the liquor drawn 

 during the preceding twelve hours in the 

 larger tube, which he carries upon his 

 back. He slices daily a thin shaving 

 from the tip of the flower, in order that 

 the wound may be kept open and bleed- 

 ing. This process is kept up until nearly 

 all of the flower cluster has been cut 

 away, or until the sap ceases to flow. 



More than a liter a day is sometimes 

 drawn from one tree, and five hectoliters 

 is considered a fair annual average from 

 a good bearing tree. 



In its fresh state tuba has a sweetish, 

 slightly astringent taste ; but, as the 

 vessels in which it is collected are rarely 

 cleansed, they become traps for many 

 varieties of insects, etc., and it is, there- 

 fore, not a very acceptable beverage to 

 a delicate stomach. When purified by 

 a mild fermentation it is tar more 

 palatable. 



A secondary fermentation of tuba 

 results in vinegar, and on this account, 

 chiefly, so much space has been devoted 

 to this feature of the industry. The 

 vinegar so produced is of good strength 

 and colour, of the highest keeping 

 qualities, and of unrivalled flavour. Its 

 excellence is so pronounced that upon 

 its inherent merits it would readily find 

 sale in the world's markets, and although 

 the local demand for the tuba now 

 exceeds the production, its conversion 

 into vinegar will probably prove the 

 more profitable industry in the future. 



Spirits are distilled and in some places 

 sugar is still made from the flower sap ; 

 and, while the importance of these great 

 staples may not be overlooked, their 

 commercial value as products of this tree 

 are relatively insignificant. 



MINOR USES. 



In addition to eighty-three utilities 

 described by Mr. Pereira,* it is in very 

 common use in the Philippines for : 



* Quoted in " Watt's Dictionary, II, 456, 



