THE COCONUT AND ITS USES. 15 



supplies of fresh coconuts are available, as only fresh 

 kernels can be used. 



The hard shell is removed by a hatchet, or preferably 

 by a small power-driven circular saw, if such is available. 

 The outer brown skin of the kernel is then shaved off 

 by a spokeshave, or, if possible, a steam-driven revolving 

 rasp. Halving the shaved kernels, the moisture is drained 

 away, and another machine strips or shreds them. The 

 nuts must be dried immediately or the oil in the kernel 

 will become rancid. Three average-sized nuts produce 

 one pound avoirdupois of desiccated coconut. 



A little sugar or starch may be mixed with the shredded 

 kernel to aid the drying process. Too much sugar, how- 

 ever, renders the product crisp and easily breakable ; 

 too much starch makes it pasty and gives it a greenish 

 tint. Ten per cent, of sugar or 5 per cent, of starch 

 is the maximum permissible. Two methods of drying 

 are : 



(1) Spread the shredded kernel on polished iron tables 

 heated by steam from below. Stir the material fre- 

 quently, and let the vapour be driven through chimneys 

 in the roof. 



(2) Dry on trays in a drying room heated to 110 F. 

 Stir frequently, and, when quite dry, remove from the 

 heated chamber and allow to cool. Pack in lead-lined 

 charts and seal for export. 



Coir is a fibre from the husk or mesocarp of the coco- 

 nut. Its fineness depends partly upon the situation of 

 the plantation, partly upon the time at which the nuts 

 are gathered. Palms growing near the sea produce 

 finer fibre than those growing inland. Nuts should also 

 be collected before ripening, as the fibre becomes coarser 



