egins to drip and is then
caught in a short joint of bamboo, properly secured for the purpose.

As a healthy tree develops at least one or more flowering racemes
every month, and the flow of sap extends frequently over a period of
two or more months, it is not uncommon to see a number of tubes in
use upon one tree.

The workmen usually visits the tree twice daily to collect the
liquor drawn during the preceding twelve hours in the larger tube,
which he carries upon his back. He slices daily a thin shaving from
the tip of the flower, in order that the wound may be kept open and
bleeding. This process is kept up until nearly all of the flower
cluster has been cut away, or until the sap ceases to flow.

More than a liter a day is sometimes drawn from one tree, and 5
hectoliters is considered a fair annual average from a good bearing
tree.

In its fresh state tuba has a sweetish, slightly astringent taste;
but, as the vessels in which it is collected are rarely cleansed,
they become traps for many varieties of insects, etc., and it is,
therefore, not a very acceptable beverage to a delicate stomach. When
purified by a mild fermentation it is far more palatable.

A secondary fermentation of tuba results in vinegar, and on this
account, chiefly, so much space has been devoted to this feature of
the industry. The vinegar so produced is of good strength and color, of
the highest keeping qualities, and of unrivaled flavor. Its excellence
is so pronounced that upon its inherent merits it would readily find
sale in the world's markets; and, although the local demand for the
tuba now exceeds the production, its conversion into vinegar will
probably prove the more profitable industry in the future.

Spirits are distilled and in some places sugar is still made from the
flower sap; and, while the importance of these great staples may not
be overlooked, their commercial value as products of this tree are
relatively insignificant.

MINOR USES.

In addition to eighty-three utilities described by Mr. Pereira,
[3] it is in very common use in the Philippines for:

1. Cocoanut cream. The freshly ground fruit, reduced to a pulp and
strained, is consumed in that form or made into cakes with rice. It
makes a delicious and nutritious food. According to Dr. W. J. Gies,
in experiments lately published, [4] its nutritive value is due to
35.4 per cent of oil, about 10 per cent of carbohydrates, and 3 per
cent of protein. The amount o