Ediote Products. 



116 



[August, loll. 



The meat after being reduced to a pulpy 

 mass is put in a hot air stove, where it 

 is kept at a temperature of 80° to 88° 

 Centigrade. From this chamber the 

 desiccated coconut is allowed to cool on 

 wooden tables. Then it is cased in 

 packages made from thin sheets of lead 

 very similar to tea packages, and is sold 

 in that form. Packages containing one- 

 half, one, two, and three pounds of the 

 product are prepared. Three average 

 sized nuts yield a pound of desiccated 

 meat. 6,700 nuts are necessary to pro- 

 duce one ton. (From Prudhomme Le 

 Cocotier.) 



The coconut oil is a product largely 

 consumed at home. But perhaps for 

 that same reason no effort is made to 

 make it better. The factory of the 

 Philippine Products Company, the first 

 of its kind in the Philippines, run by 

 Americans in Pandacan, exported in 

 1908 to the United States and to England 

 709,239 gallons of oil, valued at 265,069 

 pesos, and which were made from 5,325 

 tons of copra (Report of the Collector of 

 Customs for 1908). Although this oil 

 factory could not dispose of its by- 

 product here and had to export a part, 

 yet it thrived fairly well. Through 

 internal troubles the company closed 

 its business after the factory was 

 accidentally burnt. The Philippine 

 Products Co. would have gained a great 

 deal more if it could have disposed of its 

 by-product locally. It is important that 

 we create a market for our factory by- 

 products, if factories of any kind are to 

 have a complete success. 



COCONUT CONDITIONS IN LACUNA. 

 By O. W. Barrett. 



(From the Philippine Agricultural 

 Review, March, 1911.) 



During the latter part of the past year 

 the writer made a visit to the College 

 of Agriculture at Los Banos, where he 

 inspected the various nurseries, fields 

 and plats under cultivation by the 

 students of the College. From Los 

 Banos a journey was made to Santa 

 Cruz, the provincial capital, and from 

 there to Majayjay, Lilio and Pagsanjan. 



Only at a point about midway between 

 Saata Cruz and Magdalena were there 

 noted any active cases of bud troubles 

 in the coconuts ; here three trees with 

 dead leaves (one with live fruit) were 

 found at a short distance from the high- 

 way ; the trunks of the affected trees 

 were severely attacked by a compa- 

 ratively small boring beetle. There was 

 no odour, aud no insects were noticed 



about the top. Only one stump wa9 

 noted near the trees , and the leaves and 

 buds of a felled tree had not been 

 burned. Ijndge this disease cannot be 

 the genuine " bud rot" which caused so 

 much loss to the planters a few years 

 ago. Discussions with the President of 

 Lilio and others led me to believe that 

 " bud rot" always kills the trees quickly 

 and never allows the retention of any 

 fruits after the death of the leaves ; 

 however, a rare affection is known 

 among the coconut planters, correspond- 

 ing to the cases here mentioned, in 

 which the fruits are retained, and from 

 which the trees may recover. 



About ten dead and leafless trunks 

 were seen standing at the edge of a 

 plantation some 4 to 6 kilometers below 

 Majayjay ; very possibly these had been 

 killed by " bud rot," and the trunks had 

 not been felled as they should have 

 been. , 



Considering the very close planting — 

 5 to 7 meters— the health of the trees was 

 all that could be expected ; the yield, 

 however, is probably not more than one- 

 third of the normal amount for mature 

 trees when well spaced. In a very 

 few cases was there noted any attempt 

 at cultivation between the trees ; and 

 absolutely no cases of "clean culti- 

 vation" were seen. Near Santa Cruz 

 gabe, yams, and ginger were noted 

 growing between rows of very old trees. 

 A remarkably large percentage of mature 

 trees were practically without fruits, 

 due, doubtless, to the overdose planting 

 and the utter lack of attention. If one- 

 half the trees in some plantations were 

 felled it is believed the yield of the area 

 would be doubled. 



According to the President of Lilio, 

 the former planting distance was 10 

 varas (8 4 meters), but on account of the 

 prevalent custom of selling coconut 

 plantations at so much per tree, irre- 

 spective of quality, the present distance 

 of 5 by 6 or at the most 6 by 7 meters 

 has become very general. 



Save at the Agricultural College at Los 

 Banos very few coconuts were badly 

 attacked by the oryctes ("uang") beetle. 

 Practically no scale insects or fungus 

 diseases were noted on the leaves any- 

 where. 



Another great fault in the planting 

 method of the Santa Cruz district is the 

 setting out of young plants between the 

 rows of the old or very unproductive 

 trees ; no case was noted of the felling 

 of old trees in order to permit the growth 

 of these young plants, 



