380 Coco-nuts The Consols of the East 



copra as it comes off the hurdles from over 

 the heating pipes. It is very essential that 

 the copra be well cooled off, in a gentle 

 draught of the ordinary atmosphere and all 

 the remaining moisture eliminated before being 

 shipped. If an even heat of 50 C. be main- 

 tained in such a drying house for about twenty- 

 .four to twenty-five hours, the copra will then 

 be found all that is desired. 



Care must be taken that there are no big 

 surfaces of boards or beams immediately over 

 the copra on the hurdles, for the evaporating 

 moisture to settle upon and fall back in drops 

 upon the copra, for this will cause bad dis- 

 coloration of the product and consequent 

 depreciation of its value, for if the copra is 

 to realize the best and highest prices, it must 

 be kept as white and uniform in colour as 

 possible. 



Since, writes Mr. Herbert S. Walker in the 

 Philippine Journal of Science, the quick and 

 thorough drying of copra has been shown to 

 be of such vital importance in order to ensure 

 the production of a pure (i.e., a good keeping) 

 oil, an investigation of the various methods of 

 copra drying has been made, not only those 

 common in the Philippine Islands, but also 

 those used in other countries. 



The simplest and most primitive mode of 

 drying copra is to expose the nuts, cut in 

 halves, to the action of the sun during about 

 five days. A drawback to this method is its 



