130 OIL-SEEDS AND OILS 



simple construction. They consisted of half a tumbler of 

 water with oil floating on the top as far as the brim. Two 

 lighted sticks served as wicks. 



The chief use of coco-nut oil to us is for making Margarine 

 (and various other butters and fats), Soap, and Candles. 



Poonac. All animals are fond of coco-nut kernels, and, 

 nowadays, after the oil has been extracted from the copra, the 

 residue is ground up into meal for feeding cattle ; it is called 

 poonac. 



Coir. The husks and fibre in which the nut is embedded 

 used to be steeped in water in pits for six months, or even 

 a year, and then beaten with a stick to separate the fibres from 

 one another. Nowadays, the same process of wetting and beat- 

 ing is followed, but on most plantations machinery is employed 

 and the methods are more expeditious. 



The Fibre is called Coir. It is very strong, and is twisted 

 into ropes, woven into matting for floor coverings, and used 

 as a substitute for horsehair. Door-mats are made of it and 

 ships' fenders, and various kinds of brushes and brooms. 



SOURCES OF SUPPLY. Coco-nut palms require sunshine and 

 fresh sea-breezes, and though in some cases they thrive at 

 a considerable distance away from the sea, yet their natural 

 home is the low-lying sandy shore of tropical islands, where 

 their roots can push out to the salt water, and their great leaves 

 can sway in the health-giving breeze. The soil of volcanic 

 and of coral islands seems specially suited to them, though 

 they will grow well in other soils. 



Within the empire Ceylon stands first as a producer of 

 coco-nuts. Millions of coco-nut palms are cultivated in the 

 lowlands, especially on the east and south-west coasts, and 

 large quantities of coco-nuts, desiccated coco-nut, coir, copra, 

 coco-nut oil, and poonac are exported. 



Many other British countries, however, grow coco-nuts, 

 and our imports of copra come not only from Ceylon * but also 



1 The imports vary in amount from year to year. This is the order of 

 importance for 1915. 



