154 COCONUT PLANTERS MANUAL. 



Refined coconut oil is used in the preparation of solid edible fats, such 

 as margarine, vegetable butters, cooking fats, and chocolate fats, as well as 

 in the manufacture of cakep, biscuits, sweetmeats, etc. In order to obtain 

 a fat of firmer consistence and higher melting point, a certain proportion of 

 the liquid constituents of the oil (' coconut olein") is removed by expression. 

 The "coconut stearin" which is left is used for the purposes indicated above 

 when obtained from the high-grade oil, while that obtained from the lower 

 grades is used for candle manufacture. 



The following are the conclusions arrived at from numerous feed- 

 ing trials with coconut cake(poonac) : — 



1. Coconut cak? forms an excellent feeding-stuff for milch cows, when 

 fed at the rate of 4i lb. to 5 lb. per head per day. It tends to produce a 

 firm butter and is thus especially well-suited for feeding during warm weather 

 and to counteract the effect of feeding stuffs which tend to give a soft 

 butter. The results so far as its effect on the milk yield is concerned appear 

 to be inconclusive, and further trials to elucidate this point are necessary. 



2. The cake may be safely fed to fattening cattle at the rate of about 

 4 lb per head per day, without detriment to the animal or the quality of 

 the meat 



3. The meal is suitable as a food for pigs, but owing to its relatively 

 high price compared with meals usually used for pig feeding, it is doubtful 

 whether it could be employed profitably for this purpose. 



4. With regard to the feeding value of coconut meal for horses, it has 

 been shown that it can replace an equal weight of oats in a ration without 

 adversely affecting the animal. 



POLLINATION OF COCONUTS IN MALAYA. 



Messrs. Jack and -Sands, Botanists of the F.M.S, Department of 

 Agriculture, writing in the Malayan Agricultural Journal of January 

 1922, contribute the following of interesting notes on this subject. 

 After referring to Petch's observations in Ceylon they remark : — 



In the warm humid atmosphere of the lowlands of Malaya, coconuts 

 appear to behave differently. The length of duration of the male phase is 

 curtailed, while the duration of the female phase would appear to be longer 

 in both tall and dwarf trees ; but the most striking difference is the fact that 

 in Malaya the female phase not only begins, but mosc frequently ends 

 before, or at the same time, as the male phase, thus rendering self-pollination 

 the rule instead of being an occasional chance occurrence. 



