278 The Philippine Journal of Science 1918 



In order to determine the capacity and power consumption 

 of some of the machines used in extracting coconut fiber, the 

 Bureau of Science conducted some tests on an available crusher, 

 a special fiber-extracting machine, and a willowing machine. 

 They are manufactured by an apparently reputable concern, have 

 been widely advertised during a score of years, and were in 

 operation at the Surabaya Fiber Exposition where they attracted 

 considerable attention and received favorable comment. 



The husks used in the testing of these machines were obtained 

 from nuts used in making copra in Laguna Province, Luzon, 

 which is one of the most important of the coconut-producing 

 districts in the Philippines. They were water-logged when re- 

 ceived at the Bureau of Science which was apparently due to their 

 having been transported part of the way in rafts. Judging from 

 the pale, mottled green color they must have been taken from 

 slightly immature nuts. 



After the nuts have been harvested, the first step in the ex- 

 traction process is the removal of the fiber-bearing husk, or 

 pericarp. In the Philippines, this husking operation is per- 

 formed by impaling the nut manually on a pointed iron blade 

 set vertically in a wooden base, after which the nut is given a 

 sharp twist which pries ofi" part of the husk. These alternate 

 impaling and twisting operations are repeated until all of the 

 husk is removed. There is little similarity in the shape of the 

 husk fragments separated by this method; at times the husks 

 may be separated in halves, at other times in thirds, and if the 

 husk adheres tenaciously the fibrous envelope may come off in 

 much smaller fractions. One man easily can husk one thou- 

 sand nuts daily by this method, and Prudhomme is under the 

 impression that in the Philippines ' three thousand nuts are 

 husked daily by one man. 



In order to secure an increased output at lower cost, attempts 

 have been made to construct husking machines. Those that cut 

 husk, shell, and nut into fragmental wedges yield a husk less 

 satisfactory for the manufacture of coir, for in many cases 

 the cuts are across the fiber. The fiber can probably be ex- 

 tracted most satisfactorily from the hand-husked product. 



After the husks have been removed from the nut they are 

 soaked in water in order to soften the outer skin and the cellular 

 tissue in whiich the filaments are embedded, which facilitates 

 the defibering process. The makers of the machines state that 

 the longer the husks are soaked the better the coir obtained, 



' Prudhomme, E., Le Cocotier, p. 36.3. 



