MAY, F 1909.] 



421 



Oils and Fats. 



the last ten years. It is probable that 

 the moist atmosphere, due to the proxi- 

 mity of the mountain, has contributed 

 largely to its presence in this vicinity. 

 A few cases have also been found in 

 the towns of Pagsanjan, Santa Cruz, 

 and Pilar. The damage done iu these 

 towns, however, has been small. 



While all the trees showing symptoms 

 of disease at the time of inspection were 

 destroyed, it is quite probable that others 

 have been infected by means of wind or 

 insects carrying the bacteria and will 

 develop the disease later. Presidents 

 of muncipalities, lieutenants of barrios 

 (some in the most remote and out-of-the- 

 way places), and the owners of the 

 groves have been instructed as to the 

 nature and manner of exterminating 

 this disease, and all should co-operate 

 to keep it out If reasonable measures 

 are taken to suppress it, the disease 

 will not prove serious. 



Insect Enemies. 



The insect enmey which has up to the 

 present time caused more loss to coco- 

 nut owners in Laguna and Tayabas 

 than all the other destructive agents 

 combined is the "uang," or rhinoceros 

 beetle (Orycytes rhinocerus). This insect 

 attacks the most vital part of the tree, 

 the bud, boring through and feeding on 

 the young tender "'cabbage." The coco- 

 nut being endogenous, the destruction 

 of this part means death to the tree. 

 Thousands of trees are killed by this 

 insect, but as yet no really practicable 

 method has been discovered for destroy- 

 ing it. 



Various methods are used with greater 

 or less success. The beetles may be 

 extracted from their holes by means 

 of a hooked wire. Pouring 5 to 10 cubic 

 centimetres of carbon bisulphide into 

 the holes and tilling the opening with 

 mud will kill them. Sharp-cornered 

 sand sprinkled between the base of the 

 leaves and the bud will make it very 

 disagreeable for them to enter at this 

 point. No thoroughly practical remedy 

 has been found for the beetles when 

 once in the tree, but their ravages can 

 be largely reduced by cleaning the 

 groves of all dead trees, undergrowth, 

 and rubbish. 



Some Figures on the Coconut 

 Industry, 



No doubt any information as to the cost 

 of production will be of great value to 

 the prospective investor in coconuts. 

 The following figures have been comput- 

 ed from data collected by questioning 

 dozens of coconut growers in Laguna 

 and Tayabas Provinces :— 



Cost per 

 1,000 nuts. 



Cutting down from trees ...P1.00-P1.20 

 Collecting in piles ... .24 



Husking ... .60—1.00 



Halving ... .20 



Drying (copra) ... 2.50 



Grinding meat (oil) ... 1.00 



Present value per 1,000 nuts — 



As nuts ...P12.00-P15.00 

 In oil ... 20.00 



As copra ... 17.33 



Average value of 1 hectare 

 of coconuts ... P500— P1.U0U 



Aveiage production of nuts 

 per hectare ...10,000—12,000 



Average yearly gross re- 

 ceipts per hectare ... 150—200 

 It requires about 250 first-class, 300 



second-class, and 350 third-class nuts 



to make one picul of first-class copra. 



A labourer can cut down from 1,000 to 

 2,000 nuts a day, according to the 

 height of the tree and the amount of 

 underbrush in the grove. He can husk 

 2,000 or rasp the meat from about 1,000 

 nuts per day. 



Cost of transportation of cargo (four 

 tins, or 20 gallons) of oil on a pack 

 horse a distance of 20 miles (Nagcarlan 

 to Santa Cruz) is about P2.50. 



Cost of transportation of one cargo 

 (2 sacks, 3,000 pounds) of copra a dis- 

 tance of 10 miles (San Pablo to Bay) is 

 PI. 50. 



Owners of coconut groves make 

 several kinds of contracts with their 

 overseers for taking care of their groves 

 and gathering and marketing the crop. 

 A common one requires the overseer 

 to do all the work of gathering, manu- 

 facturing, and marketing, standing all 

 expenditures, and gives him half of the 

 gross proceeds. Another calls for the 

 owner to pay for the pulling down of 

 the nuts and the transportation of the 

 finished products to market, the over- 

 seer to do the rest and receive one- 

 third of the gross proceeds. 



In manufacturing oil, when the factory 

 is not the property of the owner of the 

 grove, the overseer usually pays for 

 the use of it 25 centavos and one-half the 

 oil cake per cargo of oil made. 



The relative net profit to be derived 

 from the production of oil and copra 

 varies with the market prices of these 

 two products. Sometimes oil, and at 

 othei times copra, is the more profit- 

 able of the two. Most natives prefer 

 making oil so as to have the cake to 

 feed theiv hogs. 



