It is easy to see that abaca, with the many uses it is put to in the Philippine Islands and the many articles into which it is manufactured abroad, is of great importance among Philippine products. As American enterprise extends its cultivation, and introduces new and improved methods of harvesting and transportation, its importance as a source of wealth is sure to increase.
Few Americans realize what an important part in the lives of the Filipino people the coconut plays. The tall slender trees without a branch, except the cluster of leaves at the very top, are the most characteristic feature of the Philippine landscape. These trees supply timbers for building, thatch for roofs and walls of houses, hats, fans, household utensils, oil, food, and drink. The trees are often used as corner posts for houses, thus giving a secure anchorage against wind-storms and earthquakes, while the roofs and sides are covered with coconut leaves.
Each nut is surrounded by a large fibrous husk, so that the fruit as it comes from the tree is two or three times as large as the nut itself. The fibers in this outer husk are very stiff and are used to make hats, brushes, mats, and other similar articles. Cups, spoons, ladles, and trays are made from the shell of the nut, which takes a very handsome polish.
The ripe coconut with its hard dry kernel, as it is generally seen in the United States, is quite different from the young nut as it hangs on the tree. Then it contains only a thin layer of soft white meat around the inner part of the shell, the remaining space being filled with a delicious liquid.
When people are traveling in the Philippines and become thirsty, a man fastens a strap or cord to his feet so that they will be about as far apart as the diameter of the tree, and with this aid in bracing himself, he climbs easily up the long straight trunk to the leafy crown where the nuts hang in clusters. He cuts off and drops to the ground as many nuts as are wanted, and then slides down the tree. With his bolo he strikes a slice from the husk of a nut so deftly that a small hole is opened in the shell and the liquid, cool, sweet, and refreshing, is easily drunk. When the traveler's thirst is quenched, the nut is split in half, a rude spoon is made from the husk, and the thin layer of soft white meat is scooped from the shell and eaten. By boiling the kernel of the ripe nut an oil is obtained which is used for burning in lamps, for cooking, and for oiling the hair. When the meat of the coconut is dried it is called copra (co'-prä), and large quantities of this are shipped to foreign countries, where it is used for making candles and soap.