VEGETABLE AND IMITATION 285 



Machalilla, and Guayaquil; shelled nuts come from Manta, 

 Guayaquil, Cayo, Machalilla, Manta, Esmeraldas, Macara, 

 and Puerto Bolivar. The best quality of tagua is secured in 

 Puerto Bolivar and Macara, and is shipped from Guayaquil. 

 The best and soundest nuts are those picked from the trees; 

 those which have fallen off and are collected from the ground 

 are frequently wormy. The weight of unshelled tagua 

 received in Bahia in 1913 was 8,000,000 pounds, but the 

 shelled product finally exported weighed only 4,755,100 

 pounds, showing a loss in weight for shells and defective 

 nuts of 3,244,900. The worm-eaten nuts are usually weeded 

 out at the haciendas before the product is sent to Guaya- 

 quil, as exporters refuse to buy them, not merely because of 

 their defective condition, but also on account of the risk 

 that they will infect the sound nuts if packed up with them. 

 At present the first quality of tagua is sold in warehouses 

 in Ecuador for 7 sucres ($3.41) for 100 pounds, ordinary 

 commercial nuts bringing 6 sucres ($2.92) for 100 pounds; 

 rejected nuts could be had as low as 1 sucre (48.7 cents) 

 for 100 pounds. In each case the cost is increased by $1.70 

 for export duty and shipping expenses. One shelling 

 machine is at work in the Province of Manavi, and there are 

 several others in operation in various parts of Ecuador. 

 An important recent foundation is the Ecuadorian Indus- 

 trial Company of New York, said to owe its organization 

 to a former United States minister to Ecuador. This com- 

 pany will install a plant in Manta for shelling the nuts and 

 giving the kernels the first rough shaping for button manu- 

 facture, thus saving the freight charge on superfluous ma- 

 terial.* 



The extensive use of vegetable ivory is shown by the 

 large imports of this material into the United States from 



*Consul-General Frederick W. Goding of Guayaquil, "Vegetable Ivory Exports from 

 Ecuador," Daily Consular and Trade Reports, 



