

118 THE COIR FIBRE INDUSTRY 



last three-quarters of a century, though it was not 

 until the Great Exhibition of 1851 that coir rope 

 and coir matting really attained commercial import- 

 ance in Europe. 



The finest coir fibre is produced in Malabar, 

 though some excellent qualities are imported 

 from the Laccadives, Madras, Ceylon, Singa- 

 pore, and certain other districts. In the West 

 Indies, too, a certain quantity is produced, but 

 very little of it is exported as there is a considerable 

 local demand for fibre. Locality, soil, climate and 

 proximity to the sea all exercise a considerable 

 influence over the quality of the fibre, which is 

 marketed in varying degrees of fineness, according 

 to the class of the coconut. The collection of the 

 fruit at the exact point of fibre-maturity, the age 

 at which the nut is cut and husked, and the method 

 of preparation are also highly-important factors. 

 The commoner and coarser fibres are obtained 

 from old nuts, and the lighter qualities from the 

 new. Malabar nuts are regarded as the finest from 

 a fibre standpoint, as they produce an article of the 

 purest hue and texture. So marked is its 

 superiority that every effort has been strained to 

 imitate it by means of bleaching processes, although 

 these destroy the quality of the fibre if it be good, 

 and if common render it almost worthless. 



We are told by a practical authority that coconut 

 fibre is long, elastic, springy, easily manipulated 



