November, 1911.] 



428 



Edible Products, 



it. The following table from the report 

 of the Collector of Customs shows the 

 growth of the industry since 1899, and a 



study of the figures will give an idea of 

 the increase in the value to these islands 

 of copra as a commercial product :— 





TO ALL COUNTRIES. 



Percentage 



TO 



UNITED STATES, 









of Total 









Tons. 



Value. 



Value. 



Tons. 



Value. 



ISM* 



14,047 



$ 656,870 



4'7 



— 





lyuu 



37,081 



1,690,897 



7*8 



— 





1 OA1 



jyui 



52,529 



2.648,305 



100 



103 



9 4,450 



1902 



19,686 



1,001,656 



o yj 





7 



1903 



97,629 



4,472,679 



11-2 



61 



9,173 



1904 



54,132 



2,527,019 



7-0 



174 



9,231 



1905 



37,556 



2,095,352 



5-6 



205 



14,425 



1906 



66,157 



4,043,115 



12-3 







1907 



49,081 



4,053,193 



11-8 



1,109 



108,086 



1908 



76,419 



5,461,680 



16-6 



2,967 



228,565 



1909 



105,564 



6,657,740 



21-1 



4,713 



287,484 



191C 



116,374 



9,153,951 



22 9 



5,538 



447,145 



The business of growing coconuts is 

 one that offers splendid ivxlucements for 

 the investment of capital. Trees will 

 mature in from 7 to 10 years. At the 

 latter age they should be producing an 

 average of from 60 to 70 nuts a year. 

 Prom 200 to 250 nuts are required to 

 make one picul of Copra, equal to about 

 13£ pounds. This is worth in che 

 neighbourhood of 15, and the market is 

 usually above this figure. The net 

 profits from matured trees should not 

 be less than $1 gold per annum for each 

 tree. They may be planted 50 to the 

 acre— or, if they are a little more widely 

 separated, it is better. This permits of 

 the cultivation between them of minor 

 crops duriug the period of growth of the 

 trees : thus corn and various leguminous 

 plants may be cultivated and made to 

 support the planter until his trees begin 

 to bear. A 100-acre tract with, say, 

 4,500 bearing coconut trees is sufficient to 

 make a man comparatively rich. That 

 a very small amount of copra has gone 

 to the United States is probably due to 

 the fact that Marseilles has possessed 

 certain advantages in the manufacture 

 of the oil and various by-products, but 

 the large ratio of increase that has taken 

 place in exports to the United States in 

 the past two years would indicate that 

 a market is being developed there, and 

 it is probable that in time that country 

 will either get its coconut oil from the 

 Philippines or manufacture it from 

 Philippine Copra, instead of buying it 

 from Prance as it is at present doing. 



There would seem to be a splendid 

 opportunity present in these Islands for 

 the manufacture of coconut oil and the 

 by-products of copra and the coconut. 

 The husk of the latter yields a fibre that 

 is valuable for manufacture into brushes, 

 door-mats and a slightly inferior quality 

 of rope. It can be produced at a small 



cost and will add very materially to the 

 profits from a coconut plantation. The 

 shell of the nut makes a high grade 

 charcoal, and what is commonly known 

 as the milk is capable of producing a 

 fair quality vinegar. The residue of the 

 meat from which the oil ha9 been 

 extracted is valuable as food for cattle 

 or for fertilizing. 



Under methods at present in vogue in 

 these Islands no attempt is made to 

 utilize any of these by-products. 



SUGAR CULTIVATION IN THE 

 PHILIPPINES. 



History op Industry in Islands- 

 Possibilities Offered for Invest- 

 ment of Capital. 



(Prom the Manila Bulletin.) 



Sugar cultivation in the Philippine 

 Islands and the possibilities offered here 

 for the investment of capital, the neces- 

 sity for modern methods of extraction 

 and market afforded, is given special 

 attention in "Reciprocity and the 

 Philippines," and should be placed in 

 the hands of those who control the sugar 

 capital in the United States. 



In dealing with the subject Mr. Harold 

 M. Pitt, author of the work above men- 

 tioned, say : — 



The Philippines have been producing 

 Cane Sugar for export for considerably 

 more than a century. The cane appears 

 to have been introduced by the Chinese 

 in earlier times, and most of the old mills 

 at present in use are built along Chinese 

 methods. The first authentic record 

 that we have of the production of cane 

 sugar in the Islands is contained in 

 United States reports dating back to 

 1795, when 296,219 pounds of Philippine 



