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or two members of his family, will twine from 50 to 

 100 lbs. of marketable coir yarn in a day. The intro- 

 duction of these machines would be of great advantage 

 to the natives of Fiji. They make a great quantity of 

 copra for sale or taxes, but for the want of a simple 

 machine the fibres of the nuts are allowed to rot on 

 the ground. The value of coir per ton equals that 

 of copra, if it does not exceed it, and by the introduc- 

 tion of this simple machine, the Fijian would be 

 enabled to utilise the fibre, and so reap double the 

 benefit he now does from the cocoa-nut. 



The number of trees that may be put down on an 

 acre varies from 50 to 100 (from 20x20, to 30x30 

 feet apart), according to the quality of the soil, and 

 whether the climate of the locality be wet or dry. On 

 an average the trees begin to bear about the seventh 

 year after planting, but a full crop need not be anti- 

 cipated until the tenth year. This is not owing to 

 absence of flower on the trees, but to a paucity of 

 pistellate flowers, and the inability of these flowers 

 when present to produce fruit while the trees are 

 young. A plantation will continue in prolific bearing 

 for about 80 or 100 years. The average yield per tree 

 per annum is about 100 nuts. About 6,000 nuts yield 

 a ton of copra, and about the same weight of fibre. 

 The value of each is about £14* per ton in Fiji, and 

 these quantities may be produced on about an acre of 

 plantation in a fairly good bearing condition. The 

 estimated cost of clearing the land, planting the trees 

 and attending to them until they begin to bear, is 

 from £15 to £25 per acre, according to circumstances. 

 The after expenses are those of gathering the nuts as 

 they fall from the trees, husking them, and drying 

 the copra. As cattle can be pastured on the grass 

 growing underneath the trees, after they are eight 



