THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA AND CEYLON. 529 



for baking and domestic purposes in place of butter and lard. It 

 has a melting point of about SB*^ C. Specimens of these products 

 submitted to the Bureau of chemistrj'- of the Department of Agricul- 

 ture for analysis, proved to be remarkablj'- free from fatty acids, 

 the "ko-nut" containing 0-13 pei- cent, and " kokoreka," the 

 harder substance, only 0-04 per cent. In consequence of tests 

 made by Dr. Theodor Ternes, of the Royal Imperial Hospital of 

 Vienna, an official report was made, stating that coco-nut butter 

 meets all hygienic requirements ; that it is superior to animal fat 

 and butter ; that it is easily digested and is particularly well adapted 

 for the use of patients suffering from impaired digestion" (Safford). 

 Fibre. — Coir, or the fibre of the hu.sk of the coco-nut, is another 

 product of commercial importance. It is imported into Europe and 

 America in the form of coir yarn, coir fibre, coir rope, and bristle 

 fibre, and is principally used in manufacturing matting and brushes. 

 There ai-e several ways of stripping the fibres from the husk. One 

 is by placing a stake or iron spike in the ground, and by striking 

 the nut on the point, the fibres are easily separated. In this man- 

 ner, it is said, a man can clear 1,000 nuts daity. In the Laccadi- 

 ves the following method of making coir is employed. " As the 

 husk gets hard and woody if the fruit is allowed to become quite 

 ripe, the proper time to cut it is about the tenth month. If cut 

 before this, the coir is weak ; if later, it becomes coarse and hard, 

 and more difficult to twist, and requires to be longer in the soaking 

 pit and thus becomes darker in colour. When cut, the husk is 

 severed from the nut and thrown into soaking pits. These, in some 

 of the islands, are merely holes in the sand, just within the influence 

 of the salt water. Here they lie buried for a j'ear and are kept 

 down by heaps of stones thrown over them to protect them from the 

 ripple. In others, the soaking pits are fresh-water tanks behind the 

 crest of co]:al. In these the water not being changed becomes foul 

 and dark coloured, which affects the colour of the coir. When 

 thoroughly soaked the fibrous parts are easily separated from tlie 

 woody by beating. If taken out of the pits too early, it is difficult 

 to free the coir from impurities. If left too long, the fibre is 

 weakened, as is said to be the case also with that soaked in fresh 

 water" (Robinson). These different modes are also practised in 

 Ceylon. There exists, how-ever, no such necessity for steeping the 

 husk so long in water, it having been found that a shorter time 

 is sufficient. It has been proved that the fibre from the husk of 

 the ripe fruit is greatly improved in quality and appearance by 

 beating, washing, and soaking, and that the old method of steeping 

 in salt water for 18 months or two years is quite unnecessary, and 

 that it produces a harsher and dirtier coir. All these processes have 

 been replaced in many districts by improved methods, in which the 

 fibre is extracted from the husk, either wet or dry, by means of 



