1083 
by-product of a large and rapidly growing industry, and as this fact 
assures their availability in almost unlimited quantities, they are worth 
considering from the standpoint of their applicability for paper or pulp 
manufacture. 
Lengthy experimentation with coconut husks. has shown that the fibers 
can not economically be separated from the cellular matter in which they 
are embedded, at least not by caustic alkalies. A treatment sufficiently 
drastic to remove this nonfibrous matter not only causes too great an 
expense in the chemicals involved but seriously attacks the fibers them- 
selves; furthermore, this class of fiber is not amenable to bleaching 
processes. 
For the production of pulp for purposes other than paper this material 
appears both cheap and admirable. As a substitute for wood pulp in 
the manufacture of various commodities such as roofing and felting 
materials, in which case a complete removal of the corky layers is not 
necessary or advisable and where bleaching is not required, the husks 
could be prepared by mechanical means alone or by mechanical means 
followed by a mild alkaline treatment. In the dry state in which the 
husks come to the consumer they are easily roughly cleaned to form a 
tow-like mass of fibers, which greatly resembles oakum, and which re- 
presents from 40 to 60 per cent of the gross weight of the husk, depending 
upon the quantity of corky matter still adhering to it. 
In those countries where coir fiber is an article of commerce, the 
husks are first crushed between heavy, fluted rollers, then passed through 
the extractor, which consists essentially of a cylinder covered with steel 
teeth which tear the fiber from the husk, and then a subsequent win- 
nowing removes the short fiber and dirt. : 
Buri palm.—This palm is second only to the coconut palm in the 
variety and usefulness of its products. The tree is never cultivated, but 
it grows luxuriantly in a wild state in many sections of the Islands. The 
Recoleto estate in southwestern Mindoro contains hundreds of thousands 
of individuals of this species. One of the principal uses of this palm 
is to furnish material from which mats and sugar sacks (bayones) are 
made. he leaf is the only part suitable for these purposes. The long 
leafstalk, which contains abundant structural fiber, is employed for 
making fine hats and coarse ropes and twine. Throughout Panay, where 
this palm is widely distributed, it furnishes practically all the cordage 
fiber in use. Good-looking rope is made by beating the fresh, green leaf- 
stalks until the fibers are partially separated, and then, after drying, 
these are twisted into cordage of various sizes. 
Only coconut husks, which were taken to represent the class of fiber 
to be obtained from any palm fruit-pericarp, and buri palm rope fiber, 
which was considered to typify the class to be obtained from the leaf- 
stalks of all palms, were studied. 
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