COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



COCOASUT (Cocos nucifera). 



Amongst vege- 

 table fibres used 

 for brush and 

 broom-making, 

 several very im- 

 portant introduc- 

 tions have been 

 made, foremost of 

 which, of coiu-se, 

 is the fibrous husk 

 of the Cocoa-nut 

 (Cocos nucifera). 

 This fibre, no\v so 

 generally known 

 by the name of 

 Coir, has become 

 within the last 

 twenty or thirty 

 years a most im- 

 portant article of 

 import. Its in- 

 troduction may be 

 said to date from 

 about the year 

 1836, when a shop 

 for the sale of 

 articles made of 

 Coir was opened 

 in Agar Street, 

 Strand. In 1839 

 a partner in this 

 business took out 

 a patent for the 

 manufacture of 

 various fabrics 



