200 MISCELLANEOUS FIBRES 



0*00012 in. to 0*00036 in. with an average of 0*00020 

 inch. The lumen appears as a mere line. 



Although when the pineapple is grown for fruit, 

 its leaves cannot be used for the preparation of fibre 

 for textile purposes, yet it is possible that the leaf 

 refuse from the plantations might be employed to 

 advantage for the production of pulp for the manu- 

 facture of paper, and would thus form a valuable by- 

 product of the pineapple industry. 



COIR 



The fibre known in commerce by the name of coir 

 is derived from the thick fibrous layer which envelopes 

 the coconut. 



The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) has become 

 distributed throughout the coast regions of the whole 

 of the tropics and occurs most abundantly on the 

 shores of Southern Asia and the adjacent islands. 

 It is cultivated to the greatest extent in Ceylon, and 

 is also grown very largely in India and in South 

 America. 



The fruit of the coconut palm is a drupe. Beneath 

 the outer skin or epicarp is situated the thick fibrous 

 layer, the mesocarp ; and within this is the endocarp 

 or woody shell of the nut which encloses the kernel. 

 There are many varieties of Cocos nucifera, but only 

 three of them, viz. var. rutila, var. cupuliformis, and 

 var. stupposa, bear a mesocarp of suitable quality 

 and sufficient size for use in the preparation of coir. 

 The first-named variety is said to furnish the best 

 fibre whilst the last gives a fibre which is harsh and 

 stiff. It is considered that the quality of the fibre 

 is influenced to some extent by the situation of the 

 plantation, coir obtained from palms growing near the 

 sea being finer than that yielded by inland trees. 



The fibrous material in its raw state, that is, un- 

 beaten and uncombed, consists of fibres of varying 

 length associated with a quantity of corky and other 

 non-fibrous tissue. 



For the preparation of coir the coconuts should 

 be gathered before the}' are quite ripe. The fibre 



