July, 1908.] 



63 



/Miscellaneous. 



roots, and kept free from weeds through- 

 out the year. The effect of this treat- 

 ment was soon visible, the growth made 

 during the summer was strong and 

 healthy, and the increase in the thick- 

 ness of the main stem was also mai'ked. 

 On the whole the growth was nearly 

 equal to that made by the trees in culti- 

 vated ground, and very much greater 

 than that made by the trees with grass 

 all around the stem.— Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture, Vol. XV., No. 2, 

 May, 1S08. 



A REVIEW OF THE PRESENT CON- 

 DITIONS OP THE SPIRIT INDUSTRY 

 IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



By Daniel T. Brown, 

 Internal Revenue Agent. 



[The chief source of spirit in the 

 Philippines, as will be gathered from a 

 perusal of this article, is the Nipa palm, 

 better known in Ceylon by its native 

 name of Gin-pol and found growing in 

 the swamps about Bolgoda, Gintota, 

 &c. "Tuba" is what we call "toddy." 

 "Banca" is the name for a river boat (dug- 

 out) such as fisher folk use in river-fish- 

 ing. The article would suggest the plant- 

 ing up of low brackish land with nipa 

 palm to be "tapped" for toddy.] 



The manufacture of distilled spirits in 

 these Islands is to-day in a healthy and 

 thriving condition. The industry is not 

 a big one, nor is it a new one. As far 

 back as the year 1712 the Governor of 

 the Islands, Don Martin de Urzua, we 

 find, had a monopoly of the business of 

 distilling spirits from the sap of the nipa 

 palm and the sap of the coco palm, and 

 farmed it outfoithe sum of PIO.OOO-OO. 

 Since these early times there have been 

 many steps in its development, the 

 latest and greatest stride forward being 

 the regulation and control of the in- 

 dustry by the present Government, as 

 pruvided by the Internal Revenue Law 

 of 1904. This law has put the business 

 on a stable foundation. During the 

 year 1905 there were removed from the 

 distilleries for domestic consumption 

 over 5,0(JO,000 proof liters ; in 1906 over 

 7,000,000 proof liters were removed, and 

 Irom January to June 30 of the present 

 year taxes have been paid on 4,380,486 

 proof liters by ninety-one of the ninety- 

 five registered distillers. 



Three years ago no accurate statement 

 could be obtained by the Government, 

 not even from the distillers, as to the 



annual output of spirits, as the law re- 

 pealed by the new internal revenue law 

 imposed a tax on the capacity of distill- 

 ing machine? and not upon what was 

 produced. By some the output was 

 estimated at 50,000,000 proof liters, and 

 others, amongst whom were distillers, 

 confidently asserted that the normal 

 annual consumption was 42,000,000 proof 

 liters. 



The Government upon investigation 

 soon ascertained that the normal annual 

 consumption is 10,000,000 proof liters— 

 so the present year is nearly a normal 

 one. 



Agriculture in the Islands is closely 

 connected with the distilling industry. 

 When agriculture has fully regained its 

 former prosperity it will show itself on 

 the records of distillers, as prosperity in 

 European countries and in America is 

 felt by brewers and distillers and in the 

 national treasuries. The native, before 

 he enters his rice fields to wallow in mire 

 up to his knees, and the hemp strippers, 

 before beginning their laborious work, 

 like to fortify themselves with a glass of 

 vino. A large portion of the liquours 

 manufactured in Manila and in the 

 provinces is distributed throughout the 

 archipelago, and bartered for domestic 

 products, chiefly the staples hemp and 

 coprax. This business has always been 

 lucrative and important. 



The prime materials from which spirits 

 are manufactured here are the sap of the 

 nipa palm, the sap of the coco palm, 

 sugar, corn and rice— by far the most 

 valuable and important being the sap 

 from the nipa palm, " tuba "as it is 

 called. The bulk of the spirits is 

 now distilled from the nipa-tuba. Tuba 

 is much cheaper than sugar, and 

 in consequence there is but little 

 original distillation from sugar being 

 carried on. A good quality of rum is 

 taken from sugar in one of the provinces 

 in which sugar cane is cultivated, but 

 the output is not large. When "tuba" 

 is out of season some distillers use sugar 

 or molasses to a limited extent for a few 

 months each year. Rice and a mixture 

 of sugar and boiled rice are used to a 

 limited extent, but the total amount of 

 spirits manufactured from all grains is 

 not large. The coco "tuba" gives a 

 quality of spirits resembling closely the 

 nipa alcohol, but no distillation on 

 a large scale is attempted. Distillation 

 from tuba de coco has always been 

 carried on by the primitive caua, 

 and now the modern caua is being used 

 in this branch of the industry as well as 

 by owners of small nipa lands, the pro- 

 duct being used almost entirely for con- 

 sumption as a beverage. 



