VII THE COCOA-NUT 173 



crush out the oil from the copra by hydrauhc machinery. Oil machin- 

 Or the copra is first ground into a mass like saw-dust, this is ^^^' 

 subjected to steam, and then pressed by powerful machinery, 

 the oil running out and the refuse forming a cake called 

 poo7iac which, as has been already pointed out, is a valuable 

 cattle food. 



Coir. — The fibre obtained from the husk of the cocoa-nut 

 is called coir^ and, as we have seen, it is put to a variety of 

 uses. The husk, or pericarp, of forty nuts yields about 61bs, The yield of 

 of coir on an average, but the returns depend, of course, on ^'^^^' 

 the size of the nuts. In the East Indies the husks are soaked 

 for six or eight months in pits filled with water, in order 

 that the substance binding the fibres together may become 

 rotten. The husks are then taken from the pits, and the How to 

 fibre is beaten out with thick, heavy clubs. Machinery, ^Ir.^ 

 however, has been invented to obtain the fibre more expedi- 

 tiously and in a more cleanly manner. The husks are first Coir ma- 

 put in a crushing mill, so as to straighten them out, and they ^ ^"^'^^'* 

 are then applied by machinery to a wheel set with many 

 small teeth, which teaze out the fibres and clean them. The 

 fibres are then sorted out into their different classes accord- 

 ing to their fineness or coarseness. Usually cocoa-nut fibre 

 is received in Europe as " bristle " fibre and "mat" fibre. 

 The bristle or brush fibre is tied up in small bundles with the 

 fibres straight and clean. This is worth about ^30 per ton. 

 The mat fibre is the next in quality and it is sent " tow- 

 selled " or with the fibres loosely packed in bales. This is 

 worth about ^20 per ton. A third class of fibre is composed 

 of the refuse fibres or " a rough stuffing sort " worth about 

 ^10 per ton. In all cocoa-nut fibres, at least, the bristles and 

 the mat should be kept separate. The fibre is manufac- The uses of 

 tured into brushes, brooms, mats and other such articles, ^^"^ '^°"'" 

 which sometimes come back to the same countries where 

 the cocoa-nut that produced the fibre was grown. 



