Extraction of Oil 531 



The following statistics of the world-pro- 

 duction of oil in 1897 were included in an article 

 in Der Pflanzer of September, 1911. These 

 figures were compiled fourteen years ago, but 

 what the quantity will be this year of grace 

 (1913) we are not capable of estimating. We 

 include them, however, to give our readers 

 some idea of the comparative output of the 

 various centres, and the proportion exported : 



Copra oil. In million marks. 



Production. Export. 



Ceylon... 60 ... 36 



India ... ... ... 30 ... , 5 



Java Sumatra ... ... 2if ... 18*3 



Straits Settlements ... ... 14 



Philippine Isles ... ... 26^ ..." 15 



East Indies ... ... 8f 



Pacific Ocean Isles ... 2i| ... 37 



East Africa ... ... 9f ... 2*2 



South America ... ... 43 ... 7 



Central ... 30 ... 7 



Various... ... ... 48! 



Total world production 300' 108*2 



1 Equal to about 4,000 million nuts. 



A short, handy way of estimating the output 

 or possible output of oil is to go by the number 

 of trees about, that is of the full-bearing trees. 

 It requires, Ferguson's Handbook tells us (p. 8), 

 about forty full-grown nuts, or a year's crop 

 from an average tree, to make one gallon of 

 oil, and twelve and a half gallons of oil, or 500 

 nuts, go to a cwt. of oil, and rather less than 

 fifteen gallons or about 600 nuts, to make a 

 picul. One planter in 1887 claimed to get 

 three gallons of oil, at 9 Ib. 3 oz. to the gallon, 

 from 45 Ib. copra passed through " chekkus, " 



