Copra and its Preparation 381 



exceeding slowness, thereby not only causing 

 the planter loss of time and money, but as with 

 cacao, should a sudden rainstorm come on, or 

 a succession of rainy days be encountered, 

 mould and bacterial growth may appear, and 

 the copra be spoilt. Even under favourable 

 circumstances it seems doubtful whether the 

 copra ever becomes sufficiently dried to turn 

 out satisfactorily at the consumer's factory. 



Copra dried by laying the half-nuts, face 

 downwards, on a bamboo grating over a slow 

 fire of coco-nut husks, known as the tapahan 

 process, although cheap and comparatively 

 rapid, has the disadvantage of yielding a dark- 

 coloured product which has a smoke-like taste 

 and odour. Such copra also tends to have 

 too much moisture left in it, on the average 

 more probably than that which has been dried 

 in the sun. 



Drying by means of a hot-air chamber, as is 

 or was extensively used for drying copra in 

 Ceylon, is said to give a pure light-coloured 

 product. The chamber used is apparently the 

 well-known fruit-dryer, with wire-shelves one 

 above the other. But here, the same as with 

 cacao, it was found that the lower shelves, to 

 insure an even drying-, had to be constantly ex- 

 changed with those at the top, a method that 

 loses heat, and is trying, cumbersome, and 

 dangerous to those handling them. The less 

 completely dried copra in the upper trays also 

 is inclined to become slightly soured. " For 



