230 
THE TROPICAL 
AaRICULTURIST. 
[Oct. 1, 1899. 
CULTIVATION OF THE COCONUT IN 
THE PHILIPPINES. 
What Every Man Intebested in I hose Islands 
Wants to Know. 
Coconnt plantations pay very well and there is a 
certain demand for the fruit in China, beside con- 
stant local sales in native markets. The uses 
of the tree are various. Some tap the tree by 
making au incision in the fruitbearing stalk, under 
■which a bamboo vessel called a bombon is hung to 
receive the sap. This liquid, known as tuba, is a 
favorite beverage among the natives. As many as 
four stalks of the same trunk can be so drained simult- 
aneously without injury to the tree. In the bottom 
of the bamboo vessel is placed as much as a dessert 
spoonful of pulverized tong bark, to give a stronger 
taste and bright color to the tuba- The incision, re- 
newed each time the vessels is replaced, is made 
with a very sharp knife. The sap drawing of a stalk 
continues incessantly for about two months, after 
which it ceases to yield and dries up. 
The vessels containing the liquid are removed and 
empty ones put in their place every twelve hours 
about sunrise and sunset. If the tuba is allowed to 
ferment it is not so platable and becomes an in- 
toxicating drink. From the fermented juice the dis- 
tillers manufacture a spirituous liquor known locally 
coco wine. 
The trees set apart for tuba extraction do not 
produce nuta, as the fruit forming elements are taken 
away. The man who gats the tuba has to climb the 
trunk of the tree, on which notches are cut to place 
lis toes in. Oecaionally a man falls from the top of 
trunk 70 or 80 feet high and ^breaks his neck. The 
occupation of tuba drawing is one of the most 
dangerous. 
When the tree is allowed to produce fruit instead of 
yielding tuba the nuts are collected about every four 
months. They are brought down by either a sickle- 
shaped knife lashed on to the end of a long pole or 
by climbing the tree with knife in hand. 
When they are collected for oil extraction they are 
carted on a kind of sleigh, unless there be a river 
or creek providing a water way, in which latter 
case they are tied together, stalk to stalk, and floated 
in a compact mass like a raft upon which the man 
in charge stands. 
The water or milk found inside a coconut is very 
refreshing to the traveller, and has this advantage 
over fresh water, that it serves to quench the thirst of 
a person who is perspiring without doing any harm. 
At seven years' growth the coconut palm tree 
seldom fails to yield an unvarying crop of a score of 
large nuts monthly. In the provinces of Tayabas, La 
Lagixna Batangas and district of La Infanta the coco- 
nut palm is extensively cultivated solely for the purpose 
of extracting the oil. The coconut oil factories are 
very rough, primitive establishments, usually consist- 
ing of eight or ten posts supporting a nipa palmleaf 
roof and closed in at all sides with split bamboos. 
The nuts are heaped for a while to dry and con- 
centrate the oil in the fruit. Then they are chopped 
mere or less in halt, 
A man sits on a board with his feet on a treadle 
from which a rope is passed over and works to and 
fro a cylindrical block in the end of which is 
fixed an iron scraper. He picks up the half-nuts one 
at a time, and applying to the scraper in motion the 
white fruit falls out into a vessel underneath. These 
scarpings are then pressed between big blocks of wood 
to express the nil and the mass is afterwards put into 
cast-iron cauldrons of Chinese make with water which 
is allowed to simmer and draw remaining fatty particles 
off the surface. When cold it is sent off to market in 
gmall straight-sided kegs on ponies which carry two 
kegs — one slung on each side. 
Small quantities ol coconut oil are shipped from tlie 
Philippinaa. In Europe coconut oil is white and solid 
and is used in the manufacture of Soap and candles. 
In the tropics it is seldom seen otherwise than in a 
liquid state, as it fuses a little above 70 deg Fahr. 
In 1891 a coconut oil factory was started in Manila with 
modern appliances. In the Philippines themselves it 
is an important article of consumption. Every dwell- 
ing, rich or poor, consumes a certain amount of this 
oil nightly for lighting purposes. It is largely em- 
ployed as a lubricant for machinerj', for which purpose 
however, it is very inferior. Occasionally also, it is 
used for a medicinal application, 
COPHAH. 
It is only in the last few years that coprah has 
acquired importance as an article of export. In 1890 
the total amount exported was 4,653 tons. In 1S97 it 
had reached 50,714 tons, about 85 per cent of it being 
handled by English firms. 
A variety of useful domestic utensils are manufac'.nred 
by the poorer class of the natives out of the hard 
shell of the coconut. Also when carbonized the shell 
gives a black dye, used for dyeing straw hats. 
COIR. 
Very little use is made of the coir or outer fibrous 
skin which in other countries serves for the manu- 
facture of coconut matting, coarse brashes, hawers, etc. 
It is said to rot in fresh water, where as salt water 
strengthens it. As it floats on waier it ought to be of 
great value to ships. In the Philippines it often serves 
for cleaning floors and ships' decks when the nut is cut 
into two equal parts across the grain of the coir 
covering, and with it a very high polish can be put on 
to hard woods. 
NIPA PALM. 
The nipa palm is found in many salt swarmps and 
flooded marchy lands. It has the appearance of a 
gigantic fern. The leaves, which are very long and 
about three to five inches wide, are of immence value 
in the country for thatched roof. Nipa is not to be found 
everywhere; one may go many miles without seeing it 
in the districts devoid of marches and swarmpy low 
lauds. — Manila Times, August 21st. 
The World's Coffee Trade.—" Coffee Sta- 
tistics, 1899 1900," by Messrs. C J Leech & Co.. 
of Mincing-lane, contains a mass of statistics relat- 
ing to the trade of the world in coffee. Much 
of this information is of value only to those en- 
gaged in ilie trade ; but some of the figures are of 
more general interest. The chief coffee markets are 
London, Ha^ re, Hamburg, the Dutch ports, Triest, 
Antwerp, Bordeaux, and Marseilles. The total 
production during tlie current year {i e. up to 
June 30 next) is estimated at 15,285,000 hags of 
60 kilogrammes or I32J lb. each. Of this over 
lOJ million bags belonging to Brazil, Santos com- 
ing first amongst Brazilian ports with 6,000,000 
bags, and Rio next with over SJ millions. Mexico 
and the Central American States come next I^ 
million bags, then Venezuela and Colombia with 
IJ million : Java supplies 650,000 bags, the West 
Indies (chieHy Hayti, Cuba and Puertorico) 
550,000 ; British India and Manila, which are 
classed together, send 300,000 bags, Africa and 
Arabia 250,000, and the small balance comes from 
Sumatra, Ceylon and the Eastern Archipelago. 
During recent years the production his fluctuated 
considerably ; in 1894-95 it was over IIJ^ million 
bags ; the next year it fell to 10;! millions ; in 
1896-97 it rose to over 1.3^ millions, and in the 
following year to over 16 millions, while last year 
it again fell to over 13^ million bags. The prices 
show still greater fluctuations. The figures given 
by Messrs. Leech show how completely the world 
depends for its coffee on Brazil and how dependent 
the market prices are on the production there. — 
London Ti7nes, August 14. 
