Copra and its Preparation 379 



afterwards that our serang (boatswain) had a 

 close friend on that brig who thought it was 

 a good chance to pass the time of day. 



After this slight digression to touch upon 

 one interesting phase of the industry which is 

 conducted under so many different circum- 

 stances and amenities, let us '* return to our 

 muttons." 



We now come to the subject of the artificial 

 preparation of copra either by means of heated 

 air under a roof, in a building especially con- 

 trived for the purpose, or by other means. 



Without doing more than noticing the 

 attempt made by some French planters on one of 

 their islands in the South Pacific to dry copra 

 by means of steam-heat, because for various 

 reasons it was not attended with any signal 

 success and the system was abandoned, we 

 will discuss some of the patterns of hot-air 

 drying houses in use, the main features ot 

 which are a furnace, a system of wide 

 sheet-iron pipes with high chimney stack 

 for a good draught, and a wooden or 

 corrugated building set upon the masonry 

 wherein the afore-mentioned furnace and pipes 

 are contrived. Herein we find placed vertically 

 over the pipes a series of trestles, one above 

 the other, to hold a dozen or more hurdles of a 

 given surface space and capacity, and, horizon- 

 tally extending beyond the pipes and hurdles 

 on three sides, an ample, covered-in floor 

 space upon which may be spread the hot 



