68 COCONUT CULTIVATION 



usually exceeds 60 per cent, of the weight of the 

 copra, and may be extracted either by pressure 

 or by solvents, or by a combination of the two 

 processes. The frontispiece to this article repre- 

 sents a native oil-pressing plant, the pressure 

 being applied to the copra meal by means of a 

 lever attached to a wooden pestle in a wooden 

 mortar. In commercial factories the pressure 

 method is generally adopted, the residue or 

 poonac from the treatment, containing 8 or 10 

 per cent, of oil, being obtained in the form of 

 cakes suitable for cattle feeding. When such oil 

 cakes are not in demand, the solvent process may 

 be used, when the amount of oil retained in 

 the residues is negligible ; such residues are used 

 as manure or as fuel. 



On account of the high percentage of oil in 

 copra, two pressings are usually adopted, but 

 with the latest types of presses, and especially 

 where rich residues may have some advantages, 

 or where such residues are treated with solvents, 

 one pressing process may be sufficient. 



The copra as received from the drying house, 

 after being passed through a magnetic separator 

 for the removal of nails, etc., which may acci- 

 dentally have become associated with it, is 

 broken down either by means of disintegrators, 

 fluted roll mills, or edge-runner mills. The dis- 

 integrated copra is then charged into a steam- 

 heated kettle, by which the material is uniformly 

 heated to about 35 to 45 C. before being pressed. 



The copra meal to be pressed is charged, in 



