BOTANY OF THE LACCADIVES. 71 
The yield of fibre is estimated by Robinson at one pound of coir from each 
10 nuts, giving 35 fathoms of yam. He adds* that “2 Ibs. of such yarn, 
“measuring from 70 to 75 fathoms, are made up into soodies, of which there are 
“fourteen to a bundle, averaging about a maund of 28 Ibs. A Mangalore candy 
“of 560 lbs, will, therefore, be the produce of 5,600 nuts, and should contain 
“ about 20,000 fathoms of yarn.” 
In contrast with this yield, Robinson mentions that it takes only three of the 
large coarse coast nuts to yield a pound of coir, but that this coir will only 
produce 22 fathoms. A ton of Laccadive coir will thus produce 80,000 fathoms 
of yarn as against 50,000 yielded by a ton of Malabar coir, 
By Mr. Robinson’s figures, it will take over 20,000 nuts (22,400) to yield a 
ton of coir, which should produce 784,000 fathoms of yarn. Mr. Hume (Stray 
Feathers, iv, 440) says it takes about 80,000 nuts to yield a ton of coir, 
Tt is clear from what hag been written regarding the Laccadives that they 
yield by far the best coir produced in India, and it will be equally evident from 
what has been said here that their superiority lies altogether in the facilities for 
Sea-soaking offered by their lagoons, Yet from all the information that a 
consultation of the ordinary trade returns will yield, an enquirer into them 
might, as Watt remarks,t conclude that the Laccadives export no coir, In trade 
returns the Laccadive coir from British Islands is given along with that from 
the Malabar Coast, and in European markets the best Malabar or Indian coir 
is spoken of as Cochin coir. As a matter of fact, little coir comes from Cochin, 
and it does not present any features peculiar to itself or Superior to those of coir 
from other parts of Malabar. What the European merchant means by Cochin 
coir is pretty certainly Laccadive coir. Even when the coir is known to be from 
the Laccadives,some misunderstanding is produced by its being spoken of as Kiltan 
coir or Améni coir. As a matter of fact, Kiltén coir has not quite the local 
reputation of either Chitlac or Kadamum coir, whereas Améni coir is distinctly 
inferior to that produced in any of the other British islands, The application of 
the term Améni coir to the best qualities arises from two circumstances—the fact 
that the island of Améni is one of the largest and often gives its name Amendivi 
to the whole group, and that, till quite recently, the lower caste people of 
Kadamum, where excellent coir is produced, were in some degree subject to 
their higher caste neighbours of Améni, and were compelled to ship their 
produce to the mainland in Améni boats, 
Besides coir manufacture, a certain amount of coarse sugar (jaggery) manu- 
facture is carried on, not at all extensively, however, in the British islands, since 
* Robinson, Madras Journal, n. s., xiv, 16. 
Tt Dict. Econom, Products of India, ii, 421. 
