VEGETABLE FIBERS. 549 



aud oue iu particular, that of tlie cocoa palm, most valuable as a com- 

 mercial product. 



Gocos nucifera, — The cocoa palm. — The fiber of tbis palm is known to 

 commerce as Coi)\ Kab; and Cocoa fiber. Its names are as various as 

 tlxe countries in wliicb it grovrs. Among the forty or more appellations 

 that have been used to designate it, the following may be given as the 

 most liable to be met with. In the i\Ialay Archipelago it is called 

 Anoe)' ; Djai sot, in Borneo; Kelpo, &c., Java; Jows-hincUe, Arabia; 

 Narl-ol, Nasil, &e., Bengal; Oteri, Xew Guinea; Sinlo-Kaica., Japan; 

 ]l{adi Nali or l^ari Kera, Sanscrit, &c. 



There is hardly a troi)ical country on the face of the globe where the 

 cocoa palm does not flourish, and it is imiiossible to ascertain its native 

 country, though it is thought to be indigenous in some part of Asia, per- 

 haps Southern India. 



In the Coromaudel and Malabar districts, and in the adjacent islands, 

 it grows in the greatest luxuriance, preferring the sandy and rocky sea- 

 shores to the higher country, though it is often found some distance 

 inland. It is common in Africa, and abounds in America and in the 

 West India Islands. Dr. Parry found it plentifully on the island of 

 Santo Domingo, where it forms groves on the sandy beaches at the out- 

 let of mountain streams, and bears fruit abundantly. 



Its extensive geograpMcal distribution is accounted for by tlie fact of the tree grow- 

 ing iu such close proximity to the sea, that the fruits falling on the beach are washed 

 away by the waves and afterwards cast upon some far distant shore, where they 

 readUy vegetate. It is in this way that the Coral Islands in the Indian Ocean have 

 been covered with these palms. 



The fiber of the cocoa palm is contained in the husk or rind of the 

 nut, which is composed of a mass of (7o^r, as the separated fiber is called. 

 The husks are removed by forcing the nuts upon sharp iron or wooden 

 spikes fixed in the ground, one man being able to remove the husks 

 from 1,000 nuts daily. The proper time for cutting the fruit is in the 

 tenth mouth, as the fruit must not be allowed to get thoroughly ripe," as 

 the fiber becomes coarser and more difficult to twist, and must remain 

 longer in the soaking pits, which is a disadvantage, as the fiber is ren- 

 dered darker. These pits in some of the islands are merely holes in the 

 sand, and the nuts be under the influence of salt water a year, kept from 

 floating away by large stones placed over them. Sometimes the nuts 

 are soaked in fresh- water tanks, and, as the water is not changed, it be- 

 comes, in time, very foul and dark colored, which affects the color of the 

 coir. After soaking, the fiber is readily extracted by beating. Fresh 

 water is said to weaken the fiber, and in fact, too long soaking will 

 produce this result in any event. The coir from the islands of Kada- 

 mat, Keltou, and Chetlat, in the Laccadives, is said to be of the be=<t 

 descrii^tion, a.nd the manufacture into cordage, is done entirely by wo- 

 men. After it is taken from the pit and sufiiciently beaten, the extra- 

 neous matter is separated from the fibrous portion by rubbing between 

 the hands. After it is thoroughly cleaned, it is arranged into a loose 

 roving, preparatory to being twisted, which is done in a very ingenious 

 manner between the palms of the hands, so that it produces a yarn of 

 two strands at once. (Samples of this can be seen in the museum.) 



Three large coast cocoa-nuts will yield 1 pound of coir, measuring 

 about 130 feet, whereas 10 small inland nuts are required for 1 pound, 

 but it will give over 200 feet. Two i)Ounds of such yarn, averaging from 

 70 to 75 fathoms, are made uj) into sooties, of which there are 14 in a 

 bundle, averaging about a maund (28 pounds). A Mangalore mudij 

 (560 pounds) will thus be the produce of 5,600 nuts, and sliould contain 

 20,000 fathoiJis (120,000 feet) of yarn. 



