Copra and its Preparation 385 



hatchets, for the husk-breaking process owing 

 to the milky kernels coming into contact with 

 the metal. There are in the Tropics many fine- 

 grained hard-woods eminently suited to this 

 purpose, which are, therefore, almost univer- 

 sally used by the natives themselves. 



Grit and sand should be carefully eschewed 

 in the immediate surroundings of a copra- 

 drying establishment, especially in the earlier 

 stages when the kernel is still wet from the 

 milk. It should never be attempted to 

 separate the kernel from the shell until the 

 former is perfectly surface-dry, when it can 

 easily be removed with a hard-wood club, 

 preferably square at the hitting end to enable 

 the operator to deliver slanting blows. 



A few more remarks regarding the mode 

 of drying. 



We do not believe that in the present 

 system of drying on hurdles we have the last 

 word and the most perfect method. For it 

 stands to reason that with the hurdles placed 

 one above the other only the lower tiers will 

 get the full heat, whilst the top layers get 

 hardly any, or only when heavily saturated 

 with water, as the original heat, on mounting 

 upwards through the wet and cold tiers, is 

 necessarily considerably cooled as. it rises ; 

 and at the top will have retained hardly 

 any heating or moisture extracting powers 

 worth speaking of. Moreover, under the 

 circumstances, it is difficult, laborious, and 



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