March 2, 1885.] THE TROPICAL ' AGRTCTJLTURIST. 



7i5 



DESICCATING. 

 Ill preparing the nut for desiccation the shell is re- 

 moved by men with small hatchets, who become so ex- 

 pert iu the use of that implement that a good workman 

 will remove the shell from about eight hundred coast 

 nuts in a. single day, leaving the meat whole and in its 

 round and original shape. It is then passed to raeu or 

 girls, who pare ort' with a spoke-shave the brown skin 

 which coats it. (The shavings are sold to soap manu- 

 facturers, who extract the oil they contain.) The white 

 meat is next fed into shaving machines, which pare it 

 down to remarkably thin slices. It is then mixed with 

 sugar and placed in drying closets, or upon great 

 plates of sheet iron kept at a certain temperature by 

 steam pipes running in coils underneath the tables, and 

 being constantly and carefully turned by the manipul- 

 ators. It is finally sorted by sifting into different 

 grades, known as "confectioners' strips" and ■'desic- 

 cated coconut. Xos. 1 and 2. " 



ITS I SES. 



In distant lands where the coconut abounds to an 

 almost unlimited extent, and where a market for the 

 nut is not accessible, it is gathered almost exclus- 

 ively for the 7U per cent of oil it contains, which ob- 

 tained in immense quantities, the best coming from 

 Cochin China, and the poorest from Cuba, and is shipped 

 to all parts of the world for tin- manufacture of soap, can- 

 dles, be. It is even brought from remote islands in the 

 Pacific Ocean, and sold in the West Indies at a much 

 lower price than the West Indian can make his own oil, 

 as be finds ready sale iu northern markets for all the 

 nuts he can raise without breaking them up for oil. 



There has been a marked increase in the export of 

 coconut oil from Ceylon, which reached 423,830 cwt. 

 Eor L883-84, against* 306,299 cwt. iu 1882-83, and of 

 this America received 77.1W2 cwt. iu 1883-84, against 

 01,968 cwt. in 1882-83. The growth of this trade is 

 accounted for by the fact that trees hitherto devoted 

 to "toddy " for the manufacture of "arrack " (the intoxicating 

 drink of the country) have, iu consequence of the poor 

 sale for this stuff, been of late cropped for oil. Another 

 reason given for the increased export of coconut oil is 

 the large exteut to which kerosene, through its extra- 

 ordinary cheapness, is fiudiug its way into use with the 

 people of Ceylon. The same is true in China and 

 Japan, where the American oils are fast cutting out the 

 native oils throughout the length and breadth of the 

 laud. Coconut oil being more valuable for soapmnking 

 than for lighting purposes, is naturally shipped from 

 Ceylon in answer to the soapmakers 1 demand rather than 

 consumed at home. But still we believe that the prin- 

 cipal explanation of the great advance in oil shipments 

 is to be found in the greatly extended area of cultiv- 

 ation of the coconut palm during the past fifteen or twenty 

 years. Iu Ceylon alone it is estimated there are growing 

 twenty millions of coconut palms. 



In many remote countries, where the advantages of im- 

 proved machinery for extracting the oil have not been 

 realized, the native digs a bowl-shaped hollow out of the 

 stump of a tree, at the bottom of which he makes a hole, or 

 outlet, and in this receptacle he places the meat of the nuts, 

 then, using a rude press, or lever, worked by the aid of a 

 horse or ox. he extracts the oil, which is placed in barrels 

 ready for shipping, being in a liquid state in itsnative laud, 

 but congealing in any temperature below 74 degrees 

 Fahrenheit. The soap made from this oil is said to be 

 very healing to the skin, and is highly prized on shipboard 

 for its ability to produce a good lather when used in 

 salt water, a quality rarely found in any other soap. 



in the manufacture of soap from coconut oil a 

 greater quantity of water can be used than with any 

 other known oil fat, for a solid cake of soap can be 

 made from "•"> per cent of water and* 2o per cent 

 of coconut oil. with tin- necessary alkali added. 



In England it is largely used iu the manufacture of 

 candles. On shipboard it is often used in absence of 

 other oils for signal lights, and in one instance it saved 

 from a watery grave a member of this association. I 

 refer to our worthy member. Captain Bush, of Jamaica, 

 W. I. Having followed the seas for years, and being on 

 one of his tiips form Jamaica to New York with a 

 schooner loa 1 of coconuts, he encountered a severe 



gale, lasting for several days, which turned into a perfect 

 hurricane, threatening every moment to carry his vessel 

 to tile bottom. His first and second mate, with one 

 seaman, were in bed with yellow lever, leaving the ship 

 m charge of himself, one seaman and a negro boy cook. 

 Nea_rly exhausted from loss of sleep and exposure, 

 having been lashed to the wheel for two days, thinking 

 every moment would be his last, a tremendous wave 

 swept the vessel's deck of everything movable, carrying 

 in its sweep of destruction oil cask, lamps, be., so 

 essential to the mariner's safety at night. Having lan- 

 terns iu reserve iu the cabin, but no oil. what was he 

 to do ? He at once thought of the oil he could obtain 

 from the coconut, so setting his darky boy to breaking 

 up some coconuts, he managed to obtain sufficient oil 

 to fill his signal lamps and get them iu position just 

 in time to preveut a passing steamer, bearing directly 

 down upon them, from cutting the craft in two, thus 

 placing the Bayouue Scientific Circle in debt to the 

 coconut for the life of one of its members. While the 

 oil from the coconut aids the mariner in guiding his 

 vessel over the seas at night, or by its welcome light 

 shed from a distant signal, he his safely led into a 

 snug harbour, we must not lose sight of the fact that 

 the coconut tree figures very largely as a landmark 

 for the sailor to guide his vessel along the dangerous 

 and rocky coasts of the tropics. Of one in particular 

 I will speak. In the harbour of Baracoa is a mountain 

 known by the name of •• Anvil Mountain," deriving its 

 name from its close resemblance to an anvil, as it is 

 first seen against the horizou from the deck of a vessel 

 coming in from sea. Upon the extreme end of the Anvil's 

 point is a very tall coconut tree, and it is the first 

 object seen by the sailor as he approaches the eud of the 

 island of Cuba, and is as eagerly looked for there as are 

 the Highlands of New Jersey by any vessel approaching 

 our New Yurk harbour. The coconut tree referred to stands 

 entirely alone, and no inhabitants in rhat neighbourhood 

 are able to tell how long the tree has been there, or by whom 

 planted. A question is often asked, Are coconuts healthy? 

 Iu reply. I would cite in its favor what happened to a 

 packet ship sailing frum San Francisco to Australia with 

 400 p issengers on board, which, on account of rough weather 

 and slow progress, Mas compelled to put into one of the 

 small islands in the Pacific, where a large quantity of 

 coconuts were obtained. During the remainder of the 

 voyage very heavy weather was encountered, in which the 

 vessel became water-logged, and only reached Australia 

 after a perilous journey of eighty days, during which 

 time all the provisions ran short, and men, women and 

 children were fed only upon coconuts, being at last re- 

 duced to one nut per day Spread] adult. Notwithstand- 

 ing this diet, not a life was lost and not a single case of 

 sickness occurred, all the passengers landing in a healthy 

 and well-nourished condition. In another instance, two 

 men drifted iu a whaleboaton to a desolate island, where 

 they were compelled to remain for seven years before they 

 were taken oil, having subsisted almost entirely on coco- 

 nuts during that time, and yet, when rescued, were in 

 excellent condition anil had gained iu weight. 



While the coconut is considered healthy for men, it 

 is highly prized in the tropics for feeding to poultry, caus- 

 ing them to fatten more rapidly than when fed on grain. 

 In the absence of milk for coffee the coconut furnishes 

 an excellent substitute, by grating the nut, upon which hot 

 water is poured, and when pressed and strained, produces 

 the requiste substitute, of when boiled down to a greater 

 degree furnishes a thick, greasy substance, used in place 

 of butter or lard for cooking. 



The green coconut is a staple article iu all the drink- 

 ing saloons of the tropics for making "coconut toddy." 

 The end of the green nut is cut off and from it is poured 

 a glass of water as clear and cold as could be obtained 

 from any hillside spring; to this added such "sticks" as 

 the purchaser may demand. 



In a visit to the recent World's Fair at Calcutta, a 

 friend informs me that one of the most novel sights he 

 witnessed was the "coconut sheds," where long tables 

 were arranged, behind which were immense heaps of green 

 coconuts that the natives would cut in two with sharp 



knives, furnishing you a most refreshing drink of c 



nut water for a very small sunt 



