260 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



AoGUST 25. 1917. 



THE MAKING OP COCO-NUT BUTTER 



Owing to the high price of butter, numerous inquiries 

 are being made in Jamaica and elsewhere how to make coco 

 nut butter. At present, coco-nut butter is largely used 

 in Great Britain and France in place of dairy butter, and 

 even before the war it was well known in Germany. It might 

 be used wherever dairy butter is used. The process of making 

 butter is described in tlie Journal of the Jamaica Agricul 

 tural Society of February 1917, as follows : Grate or grind 

 in a mill the meat of the nut as fine as possible, and for the 

 meat of each average nut add a pint of boiling water. Put 

 this in a press, sn that the milk can be squeezed out separate 

 from the pulp. This milk can be used in place of cow's milk 

 for any purpose, and is especially good with stewed fruit. To 

 make butter, this milk can be separated in a separator, or 

 allowed to stand in a pan to let the cream rise, which it 

 should do in about the .same time as the cream in cows milk. 

 The cream can be .set to ripen, and be subsequently churned 

 in the usual way. The whole process is in every respect the 

 same as in making dairy butter. Wash out the butter milk 

 and add salt to taste. As a rule, this butter is white, and 

 annatto colouring can be added. According to the size of 

 the nuts, it should take six to ten nuts to make a pound of 

 butter The churning should be done in a cool temperature, 

 say, between 60 or 70 degrees. 



ONION INDUSTRY IN MONTSERRAT. 



The report on the working of the Montserrat Onion 

 Growers' Association for the year 1916-17 affords interesting 

 reading, for it shows the benefits to be derived by cooperative 

 association even when practised on a small scale. 



The method of working followed on the same lines as 

 in the previous season, and the nett return to the members 

 shows a decided improvement on last year. 



Twenty one members joined the Association iu this 

 season, compared with thirty in the previous year, the falling 

 off in membership taking place only amongst small growers. 



The local (iovernment again agreed to finance the 

 Association to the extent of £200 on a 3 per cent basis, £85 

 ot this onlj' being used. 



Four additional racks were added to the existing series 

 at the Onion House at a cost of £3 94. 6rf., which amount 

 was charged to current expenses. The Onion House was 

 opened to deal with the crop on January 1 7, and closed on 

 April 14, so that the work there was continued just one 

 month longer than in the previous yeai 



Members were, as in the previous year, allowed to 

 deliver onions either on strings or loose, at their convenience, 

 and, except in very few instances, newly reaped loose onions 

 without the lops were delivered. A stock of barrels was 

 laid in with a view to catering for the Barbados market, 

 where onions on strings are preferred, but the deliveries of 

 onions on strings ^wre insufficient to make use of more than 

 a portion of these, and, in any case, in the absence of better 

 methods of stringing the onions, it is inadvisable for the 

 Association to continue this method of shipment. 



Considerable expense was saved at the Onion House by 

 dispensing with the grading table, the onions all being 

 graded into three sizes by the eye, a method that is found 

 to work quite satisfactorily. 



The total amount of green onions delivered was 55,iS57 lb. 

 compared with 55,022 lb. in the previous year, and as the 

 total amount of cured onions actually shipped was 45,140 lb , 

 there was a loss in handling of 19 per cent, compared with 

 a loss of 17 per cent, in the previous season. The extra loss 



on handling is no doubt due to the considerably larger 

 proportion of onions sent in in a green condition, the 

 stringing of onions being more general in the previous season. 



The onions from one district were penalized to the extent 

 of 10 per cent, owing to the excessive loss from bacterial rot 

 after delivery, and this reduced the total nett deliveries of 

 green onions to 54,344 lb. 



The weight of onions destroyed in the building by 

 bacterial rot was 3,294 Bb. compared with 4,239 ft. in the 

 previous season, the drier season evidently resulting in a 

 reduced tendency to develop this disease. 



The shipments of onions totalled 812 crates and 19 

 barrels. The following figures show the destination of the 

 various .shipments, and the approximate average nett price 

 per pound received, c.i.f.; — 



The following statement shows the receipts and expen- 

 diture on the year's working: — 



EXI'ENIIITIIRE. 



Total working expenses 

 1st paynjent for onions at Ic. per ft). 

 Bonus on onions at 2-39c. per lb. 

 6/^ on profits to Association 



RECEIPTS. 



On account of onions shipped 

 Onions sold at Onion House 

 Sale of 21 empty barrels 

 Members subscriptions 



