550 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. 



Coir liber is used by tlie Spaniards of the Soiitli Seas instead of oak- 

 iiin for calking their vessels, and it is claimed that it ■^ill never rot. 

 Coarse cloth is sometimes made from the fiber, wbich is used for sails. 

 The principal use of coir, however, in tlie commercial world, is for cord- 

 afje and matting. '' The character of coir has long been established in 

 the East, and is now in Europe, as one of the best materials for cables, 

 on account of its lightness as well as elasticity." Ships furnished with 

 coir cables have been known to ride out a storm in secmity while the 

 stronger made, but less elastic, ropes of other vessels snapi)ed like pack- 

 thread. Coir cables were used extensively in the Indian Seas until 

 chain cables were introduced. It is rougher to handle and not so neat 

 looking as hemp rigging, but is well suited to running rigging where 

 lightness and elasticity are desired, as for the more lofty sheets ; it, how- 

 ever, is too elastic for standing rigging. In vessels of 600 tons it is 

 generally used for lower rigging. 



Coir fiber ap])ears in the form of large, stiff, and, as has been stated, 

 very elastic filaments, each individual of which is round, smooth, very 

 clean, resembling horse hair. It possesses a remarkable tenacity and 

 curls easily. Its color is a cinnamon brown. These filaments are bun- 

 dles of fibers, which, when treated with the alkaline bath and ground 

 in a moitar, are with difticulty separated by the needles for microscopic 

 examination. 



The individual fibers are short and stiff, their Tvalls very thick, notwithstanding 

 ■which this thickness does not equal the size of the iuterior canal. Tlie surface does 

 not appear smooth ; it is often sinuous and the profile appears dentated. The diame- 

 ter is not very regular. The points terminate stuldenly and are not sharp. The walls 

 appear broken in places as ii' they were i)ierced with fibera, corresjionding with the 

 fissures of the aections. 



Tests of coir cordage, by Dr. Wight, gave the following results : 

 Hibiscus camiabinus broke with 190 pounds strain, coir broke with 224 

 pounds, but bowstring hemp {Sanseviera zeylanica) required a strain of 

 316 poumls to break it. In another series of experiments, made at the 

 office of the marine board in Calcutta, plain coir stood a strain of 823 

 pounds, when a remarkably fine sample of European hemp stood 1,967 

 pounds. In this test the coir stood Xo. 12 in strength and ifo. 1 in 

 elasticity, stretching 32 inches against 9;} inches for the hemp. Unfor- 

 tunately the length of rope was not given, though its size was 1^ inches 

 in circumference. 



The cocoa palm has other uses than for food and fibers, which are of 

 sulhcient interest in connection with its textile uses to briefly mention. 

 The cocoa-nuts are sometimes used for illuminating purposes, to light 

 roads, and an excellent charcoal is yielded by the burnt shells. These 

 in their entire state are manufactured into a great variety of vessels for 

 household use. The tree itself is used in the manufacture of small boats, 

 frames for houses, rafters, spear-handles, furniture, and fancy articles of 

 different kinds. It is exported under the name of porcupine- wood. " The 

 Cingalei=e split the fronds in halves and plait the leaves so nicely as to 

 make excellent baskets, and they form the usual covering of their huts, 

 as well as the bungalows of the Europeans." These dried fronds 

 also furnish fuel and are used for torches, or they are made into brooms 

 by tying the mid-ribs together. The leaves furnish mats, baskets, and 

 screens, and combs are made fi'om the mid-rib of the leaflets in the 

 Friendly Isles. Mats are also made of the cocoa-nut leaf cut out of the 

 heart of the tree, which are described of fine quality, and used in the 

 Laccadive If-lands a« sails for their boats. A downy fiber is also taken 

 u'om the plant, which is used to staunch the blood in wounds after the 

 manner of lint. 



