THE PREPARATION OF COPRA 120 



40 per cent., produces 48,000 Ib. of the finished 

 article ready for shipment. Coconut shells, husks, 

 and other refuse available on all estates serve as 

 fuel for this plant, and the motive power can be 

 supplied by means of steam, gas or oil engine, by 

 bullock or other animal, electric or windmill power, 

 as the case may be. The complete equipment, in- 

 cluding building, fans, heaters, packing, freight, 

 transport, etc., costs between 2,500 and 3,000. 



It is obviously impossible to state how many 

 coconuts are required to make one ton of copra, 

 for there can be no invariable standard number. 

 We are frequently told that three nuts are re- 

 quired to make one pound of copra. But there are 

 nuts and nuts, and it is quite impossible to lay 

 down any hard-and-fast rule, seeing that their 

 size and productivity must always vary, even 

 when grown on the same tree. According to one 

 authority, the coconuts must be calculated at the 

 rate of 6,000 or 7,000 to the ton. On the other 

 hand, Mr. William Wicherley, a Ceylon expert, 

 assures us that only 4,000 are required to make 

 a ton of copra. In West Africa the calculation is 

 4,000 well-selected nuts. In Papua about 6,000 

 are required ; while in Samoa the number is 7,000, 

 in Malabar 3,500 to 4,500. West Indians reckon 

 6,000 to 7,000, but copra is made only from their 

 smallest coconuts ; in the Philippines the figures 

 are 4,000 to 5,000 ; in Malaya, 3,500 to 5,000 ; in 



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