Miscellaneous. 



64 



July, 1908: 



The nipa palm regions, called nipales, 

 are limited to belts of swamp land along 

 the coast where conditions of soil, etc., 

 are favourable. The nipa palm is useful 

 for fortifying swamp-land standing in 

 salt water and unfit for any other culti- 

 vation. The palm is most productive 

 when planted on such land. 



The provinces in the order of their 

 importance for the nipa palm are as 

 follows :— Bulacan, Pangasinan, Pam- 

 panga, Cagayan, Capiz, Surigao and 

 Samar. The «xact area of the nipa lands 

 is not yet known. 



The collection of the tuba in the 

 nipales is done by means of bamboo 

 receptacles attached to the stalk from 

 which the fruit has been cut. A thin 

 slice ls cut from the stalk, the bamboo 

 joint fastened and left to receive the 

 juice which oozes or drips into it. These 

 are collected twice daily, transported by 

 "banca" to the distillery and their 

 contents allowed to ferment before 

 being put into the still. 



A hectare of nipa palms during the 

 season produces 4,000 liters of sap or tuba. 

 Distillers who own nipa lands manu- 

 facture spirits from tuba taken from 

 their lands and buy from others and 

 (under the old methods) from 10 liters of 

 tuba obtain one liter of proof spirits. 



Distillation is carried on by stills of 

 direct heat antiquated type, and up to 

 recently there were in use throughout 

 the provinces several hundred small 

 primitive stills, called cauas- The 

 owners of cauas, however, are gradually 

 abandoning their ciude and expensive 

 methods, and are installing a small 

 modern apparatus of local invention 

 which has been designed specially m the 

 interests of the small owners of nipales. 



Over the fireplace, which is built of 

 stones and mud, is placed an open boiler 

 upon which a hogshead minus the heads 

 is seated, and on the upper end of the 

 hogshead is another open boiler which 

 constitutes the condenser. A piece of 

 bamboo leads through the hogshead at a 

 short distance below the upper boiler ; 

 the part of the bamboo within the 

 hogshead being cut in the form of a 

 gutter to receive the spirit as it drops 

 from the surface of the condenser. 



By means of the derrick-like arrange- 

 ment the hogshead is swung sufficiently 

 clear of the boiler to allow introduction 

 of the charge of tuba. After being 

 replaced the joint is banked with rags 

 and clay to retain the steam. The upper 

 boiler is filled with cold water and the 

 fire started. Wet steam, carrying with 

 it alcohol, is generated, rises in the 



hosgead, strikes the cool surface of the 

 upper boiler, condenses and trickles 

 down to the middle and drops into the 

 bamboo gutter and flows to the receiving 

 jar outside. This apparatus requires 

 that boiling be kept up for two or three 

 hours. With a caua [such as that shown 

 in the photo], a low proof spirit is pro- 

 duced, very little being over 50 per cent. 



Such a process of distillation is waste" 

 fill. Government control of the manu" 

 facture of spirits has revolutionized this 

 branch of the industry. Methods of 

 manufacture and commercial customs in 

 the Philippine Islands being radically 

 different from the customs in vogue in 

 the United States, the system of excise 

 taxation and the regulations for the 

 control of the spirit distilling industry 

 have been devised to meet conditions. 



By grouping a number of cauas in one 

 distillery it has been possible in one or 

 two cases to comply with the regulations, 

 but the 450 cauas which have been in 

 operation are disappearing, and their 

 owners adopting modern methods, and 

 installing the small modern still known 

 as the "modern caua." Fifty of these 

 machines have been installed or are 

 being installed in their place in the 

 various provinces. 



These modern cauas, with copper coil, 

 are made in Manila and are peculiarly 

 constructed with a view to retaining the 

 weedy taste so popular with the con- 

 sumers of vino de nipa and vino de coco. 

 These stills have a daily capacity of 

 1,000 gauge liters, and from them can be 

 obtained 100 per cent, more proof spirits 

 than from the caua. Besides there is 

 great fuel economy. 



In the city of Manila there are five 

 distilleries which manufacture spirits 

 from original distillation. Sugar and 

 native corn are the prime materials, but 

 no considerable quantities of spirits are 

 so produced. It is often the case that 

 the Manila distiller manufactures spirits 

 from sugar or corn for special purposes 

 only. 



The crude alcohol distilled in the pro- 

 vinces, which runs in grade from 80 to 

 90%, is shipped under bond to Manila in 

 large quantities to the distillers, who 

 all have rectifying establishments in 

 connection with their distilling plants. 

 The Manila distiller finds it more pro- 

 fitable to use the provincial alcohol. 

 There are also four separate rectifying 

 establishments in the city of Manila 

 which also use the crude alcohol from 

 the provinces. And all of the Manila 

 manufacturers engage in the compound- 

 ing or mixing of liquors. 



