Copra and its Preparation 369 



of about twenty hours, *o8 per cent, of free fatty 

 acid, and copra dried in from 50-93 C. for a 

 period of four to fourteen hours (this copra had 

 been opened and left in the ordinary atmos- 

 phere for twenty-four hours), a percentage of 

 30 to *6o per cent. From the same source 

 also we quote the following" tests made with 

 coco-nut oil regarding its percentages of free 

 fatty acids : 



Oil from copra dried under shelter, 



at 80-90 C. -06 per cent. 



Oil from copra, sun-dried -13 to 3 per cent. 



,, ,, heavily mouldy ... 1*18 ,, 3*5 ,, 



All these arguments and statements go to 

 prove that the primitive native method of 

 drying copra has no chance against the arti- 

 ficially dried one, even taking into account 

 the cost of erecting more or less elaborate 

 establishments for doing so. When all is said 

 and done, the cost of setting up drying-kilns 

 is not at all prohibitive, especially if the area 

 of the estate is extensive, and where the quan- 

 tity of produce to be treated renders rapid and 

 up-to-date methods for drying imperative. 



The finest, most desirable, and highest 

 priced copra is that which yields a clear, 

 white oil, free from fatty acid, pleasant and 

 smooth to the taste, and having no pungent 

 and acrid smell. The producers on the Mala- 

 bar Coast, who have been established there for 

 very many years, have by dint of much devotion 

 and energy succeeded in putting on the market 



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