Feb. 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST^. 
563 
nntil inorning. Some of the workmen have families, 
and these erect nipa huts in the locality and live there. 
After the meat is ciit out from the coocuuts, it is 
chopped into bits by hand knives, mechanical devices 
fitted with rolls and parallelly arranged blades, and spi- 
rally fitted knives for accomplishing the same purpose. 
THE CUTTING OF THE COCOISUT MEAT 
involves considerable work, and alter it is done light, 
the meat is spread out in the sun to dry One may 
see wide expanses of white surface where this meat 
is distributed over extensive territory for purposes of 
drying. The drying is accomplished in a few days, 
after which the material which is now called commer- 
cially '"copra," is ready forpackiog. The copra is usually 
packed in mats of native make and shipped to Europe, 
Jipan, Russia, and sometimes to America. In nearly all 
cases the copra is used for manufacture of oils and 
soaps, although it iiuds its way into many lines of 
sale.ible articles when it arrives at the final markets. 
Candy makers buy much of it, while bakers and 
others take certain quantities. 
A very large proportion of the cocoannts and the 
copra go to waott) every season and this wastage is 
equal to good incomes for someone. The writer has 
seen hundreds of hogs feeding on the rich coconuts in 
the groves simplylbecause no one cares enough about 
the product to collect it. There is many more times 
greater products of the fruit here than is needed to 
supply the market at the present time, simply because 
the local raisers of the fruit and the makers of copra 
do not provide to furnish the demand. If the pirrehasing 
agents of other countries could always rely upon ob- 
ainling all of the copra they want in the Philippines, a 
.vasty greater number of orders would be placed than 
at present. I know of many instances where repre- 
sentatives of foreign purchasing concerns have failed 
tosecure the quantity of copra required by then, ard 
of CO urse this sort of thing tends to turn the market to 
other islands. 
THE COCONUT OIL FACTOKY OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Is fitted ordinarily with very crude machinery of 
ancient type. The principal piece of machinery is the 
press. In many cases these presses are only of th* 
old screw pattern with a large worm sheft, and the 
v/h ole force of natives employed in the vicinity of the 
woi ks is called npuii at the time the big levers are 
operated for turning the worm shaft. I have noticed 
as many as thirty men on the lever. They work 
at the lever for hours, pressing the big platen 
down on the bits of cocoauut, pressing the last drop 
of oily matter from the same. In other places, they 
have steam presses, in which case the workis done in 
more of a mechanical order and on a much larger »:ale 
with considerably less manual labour. The steam press- 
es c.iU for the employment of a steam-power plant, and 
this is one of the reasons why 1j»ey are not so exten- 
tively used. Recently, however, there have been some 
turbine and other kinds of water wheels shipped here 
and the writer has observed that a number of cocoa- 
nut oil establishments have adopted these forms of 
power-producing devices for the operating of the 
presses. Where they can get a steady run of water, 
they are assured of good and regular service the 
entire year. Again in a few inatances, where they were 
not required to operate the presses constantly, they 
were using windmills, obtaining the power from these. 
Again I saw that they had animal traction employed 
at other places. In bsveral of the more up-to-date 
works they were operating hydraulic presses to good 
advantage. Some of the Americans, who have taken 
hold of the industry and who are makiug rich returns, 
are using the hydraulic presses. As to taxation, fac- 
tories in which cocoanut oils are made pay 1 15 gold 
per year to the Government. For each hydraulic or 
steam press $6 is charged in addition. Cocoanut oil 
refineries pay ^15 gold. The collections are made 
quarterly by the collectors of internal revenue of the 
islands, there being collectors at every port, and at 
all important interior cities and towns. At present 
army officers have charge of the collections. Later on 
civilians will be in charge, 
■^ith f'o general revival of manufacturing and pthet 
INDUSTldES OF THE PHILIPPINES, 
there has come a good demand for all of the products 
of the plantations and the shops. Oils are in very good 
demand for the purposes of lubricatiou, employment in 
making soaps, candles, illuminating purposes, and 
many others. There can hardly be enough coconut oil 
made here durint; the next five years to be equal to local 
demand alone, while the exporting demand has not de- 
creased. The result is that oils are coming in from 
other countries, and these, too, meet with quick con- 
sumption. I have been in localities where for weeks 
the entire oil business is stranded for lack of any sup- 
plies. Prices take big jumps under such circumstances. 
Taking in rotation the various channels for consump- 
tion of coconut oils in the Philippines, for the benefit 
of Americans or others who are contemplating engag- 
ing in what is going to be one of the best money-making 
industries of ihe new possessions, we find that the oil 
lamps consume large quantities annually. The ship- 
ments of illuminating oils to the Philippines are chiefly 
kerosene, and the expense is so high by the time the oil 
is here that domestic oils are sought for. Therefore, 
many of the street lights and lights for the churches 
and public huildings, as well as for houses, are made for 
burning coconut oil. The maiu consumption for the oils 
will be for these lights, and the amount 
consumed will always be; large for the reason that, 
in addition to ordinary lighting purposes, the natives 
utilize considerable oil in burning lights steadily at 
church and home altars, besides in the torches of 
numerous night religious processions. Wakes and 
feasts are always in progress, at which the burn- 
ing of oil is large. The result is that the oil 
manufacturers of the Philippines are constantly 
doing a lucrative business. 
HEMP 
has been one of the staple industries of the Phil- 
ippines since the beginning of the habitation of the 
country. Hemp manufacturers now manufacture 
many lines o- twines, threads, cords, and fabrics 
in which the fiber has received a high gloss by 
means of employing oiled surfaces in imitation of 
waxed textures. The oil is upplied during the pro- 
cesses of winding and warping the yarns, and many 
gallons of it are consumed annually in the various 
textile manufacturing distiiots. Aft*r the oils are 
applied, the materials are subjectePi to the friction 
of brush rolls by which the gloss is further height- 
ened. 
THE SOAP MAKERS 
of the Philippines manufacture little white slabs of 
eoap for use in v\ ashing both clothes and persons. 
These soaps contain large percentages of coconut oils, 
and some of the fats of animals. The coconut oil re- 
finers sell much oil to tbe makers of the so-called fancy 
soaps, which soaps are really dangerous to use, as the 
native manufacturers employ some of the dye woods 
for coloricg the scaps, which are poisonouF. I visited 
several soap works where they were combining coco- 
nut oils with fats, and at certain stages of the opera- 
tion pieces of dye woods were strewn in the mass 
the dye releasing itself and mixing rapidly with the 
whitish mass of oil and soap. The color was red 
in one case, in another yellow, while still another 
was almost green. Then, after enough color appeared, 
the dye woods were removed and the soaps finished. 
The soap makers take very considerable quantities 
of oils, and with the increased additions to the soap 
making plants and the erection of new works the 
demand for coconut oils will be proportionately larger, 
THE CANDLE MAEKERS OF THE PHILIPPINES 
do a thriving business, owing to the great amount 
of candle material consumed for religious purposes 
in both churches and homes. There are thousands 
of families who have lost dear ones and who have 
erected altars in their houses in memory of the de- 
parted, at which series of candles are constantly 
burning. The candle makers buy the lower grades 
of coconut oils, and, together with fats- and greases, 
manage to turn out some low-grade candles suitable 
for the piu'poses of the islanijs. The best grades C| 
