292 



garine has been to the working classes is known only by those 

 who have mixed with them. 



The housewife who has a large famil}- to feed, and whose 

 weekly allowance will not permit her to think of buying butter at 

 Is. 4d. to Is. 6d. per lb., must yet give the children something 

 wholesome and pure to eat; and plenty of it. If only she had 

 an opportunity of expressing her views in this column, she would 

 say that the greatest boon which has come to this class of the 

 community, during the last few years, is the manufacture of 

 coconut butter, the backbone of which is pure coconut fat. 



SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED. 



Se much we have said on the subject of the commercial value 

 of coconut products. We will now consider (juestions which 

 will naturally occur to any prospective planter or investor in 

 plantations. These probably would be : 



1. What is the cost of producing 1000 coconuts? 



2. What is the market price of coconuts today? 



3. How many years will the coconut palm continue to yield 

 its crop? 



The answers are as follows : 



No. 1. The cost of producing 1000 coconuts, on a good estate, 

 according to reliable figures, is 25s. to 30s.. varying according to 

 local conditions. This figure includes management of the estate, 

 and expenses of every kin^l. 



No. 2. A fair average price, whether ct)nvcrted into coconut 

 oil, desiccated coconut, or coi)ra ; or whether the mit is sold in the 

 tlesh form, is from '^Os. to 125s. jx-r 1000. 



Xo. 3. Well attended ])alms will continue to produce, on well- 

 kept estates, for ui)wards of fifl\' }ears. 



It is therefore easy to see that there is a net annual i)rofit, to 

 the owner of the ])lantation, of over £3 per 1000 nuls ; and that 

 the various tro])ical countries are taking back from the world's 

 buyers profits in hard cash, ainonnling to almost Ci0,000,000 

 sterling a year. 



I'doi) I'oK III ore I IT. 



These profits furnisli. witliotU doubt, food for thought to any 

 commercial mind of the 20lh century, for, in passing, it should 

 be noted that even in 1903-4, when the market ])rice of coconuts 

 was only from £2 10s. to £3 10s. ])er 1000 and coconut oils stood 

 at ilZ and £24 i)er ton, the far-seeing man, whose brain was 

 cjuick enough to ol)serve the signs of the tinu's, ga\(' the advice, 

 ''Invest in coconut j)lantafions ; it is a sound and good invest- 

 ment." 



I'nfortunatelv for manv. his advice was disregarded. l)ut to(lay 



