XIII, A, 6 King: Philippine Coir and Coir Cordage 301 



On these grounds it is in great demand for maritime purposes as hawsers, 

 although its roughness renders it unserviceable for standing riggings, its 

 ELASTICITY being for such purposes a disadvantage. It is, however, better 

 suited for running riggings, its lightness being taken advantage of. In 

 the British Manufacturing Industries (on Fibres and Cordage) it is stated, 

 "Coir is one of the best materials for cables on account of its lightness 

 ELASTICITY and strength. It is durable and little affected when wetted 

 with salt water. Numerous instances have been related of ships furnished 

 with this light, buoyant, and elastic material riding out a storm in secu- 

 rity, while the stronger-made, though less elastic, ropes of other vessels 

 have snapped in two * * *." 



Copeland ^* says : 



The chief peculiarity of coir rope is its elasticity. The coco-nut fibre 

 will stretch fully 25 per cent without breaking. The amount which ropes 

 made of it will stretch depends upon the method of manufacture, but in 

 all cases they will stretch more than ropes made of any other of the 

 commercial fibres. This makes coir rope especially desirable where it is 

 subjected to jerks. * * * 



From what has been said as to the qualities of the coir, it follows that 

 for ropes it is to be recommended where elasticity or resistance to decay 

 are especially desired; * * * 



Dodge *' writes : 



"The character of coir has long been established in the East, and is 

 now in Europe, as one of the best materials for cables, on account of its 

 lightness as well as elasticity." Ships furnished with coir cables have 

 been known to ride out a storm in security while the stronger made, but 

 less ELASTIC, ropes of the other vessels snapped like pack thread. Coir 

 cables were used extensively in the Indian seas until chain cables were 

 introduced. It is rougher to handle and not so neat looking as hemp 

 rigging, but it is well suited to running rigging where lightness and 

 ELASTICITY are desired, as for the more lofty sheets; it, however, is too 

 ELASTIC for standing rigging. In vessels of 600 tons it is generally used 

 for lower rigging. 



A body is said to be elastic if, after being deformed by an 

 external force, it will spring back to its original shape and di- 

 mensions when the deforming force ceases to act. Tensile elastic- 

 ity is the resistance to an increase in its length exercised by a body 

 under tension. The results of representative tensile elasticity 

 tests of single filaments of both retted and machine-cleaned coir 

 fibers are given in Tables VI and VII. For purposes of com- 

 parison the results of similar tests on grade "F" abaca filaments 

 are given in Table VIII. 



"" Copeland, E. B., op. cit., 182-184. 

 " Dodge, Chas. R., loc. cit. 



