THE COCONUT INDUSTRY IN THE 

 WEST INDIES 



SINCE the first portion of this manual was 

 written the author has had the opportunity of 

 visiting about twenty coconut plantations in the 

 West Indies, and the study of the cultivation in 

 these parts is most interesting. 



In selling his produce the planter has here 

 a decided advantage over his distant competitor 

 of the Middle East and the Dutch Archipelago, 

 for the reason that America, which is the greatest 

 consumer of the nut, is but a week's journey 

 from the plantation. This admits of the nut 

 being shipped whole, though free of husk, and it 

 is considerably more profitable to the planter 

 than as if sold as copra or in desiccated form. 

 The American import duties and freight on coir 

 or fibre prevent shipments in husk, and at 

 present the value of this important product is 

 lost to both buyer and seller. In the West 

 Indies no attempt is made to convert the husk 

 into marketable fibre, and this loss may be more 

 fully realized when it is shown that the husk 

 from 70,000 nuts produces 30 tons of fibre, 



