xii, a, 2 Brill, Parker, and Yates: Copra and Coconut Oil 



71 



Table XI. — Suftimary showing effect of mold action on the quantity and 

 free acidity of oil in copra. 



[The c intent fur the growth of each mold is g ; ven under the special 



headings.] 





Mold acting for 10 days upon Mold acting for 30 days upon un- 

 shredded meat. shredded copra. 



Sample No. 



\<-u-.~ u ! Black mold 



iSSSSSh \ "EST" 



Brown mold Green mold 



(Aspergillus (PcnecUlium 



Jlai'us). glaucum). 





Free 



Oil loss, acid as 



oleic. 



Oil loss. 



Free 

 acid as 

 oleic. 



Oil loss. 



Free , ' Free 

 acid as Oil loss, acid as 

 oleic. | oleic. 





Percent. Percent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per centj Per cent. 

 9.5 30.7 6.8 | 6.20 1 1.2 





S6.4 1 19.8 , 23.0 

 41.0 26.6 13.0 



3 



2.9 



83.7 7.7 j 0.87 



0.9 



0.8 







1 





36.8 

 37.0 

 40.3 













7.0 I 

















Average 













40.2 



22.5 1 29.1 

 1 



6. 8 1 35. 1 | 7. 1 | 0. 6 



1.0, 



In the experiments to determine the critical .moisture content 

 of copra for the growth of the various microorganisms, we found 

 uneven distribution of water within a given piece of copra. The 

 total water content may be as low as 5 per cent, sufficiently dry 

 to prohibit mold growth, while the upper portion of the meat 

 may be practically saturated. For clearness and convenience 

 the terms upper and lower layer will be used in the following 

 discussion. By the upper layer is meant that portion of the meat 

 beginning at the surface of the meat adjacent to the water portion 

 of the coconut and extending outward approximately to one fifth 

 of the thickness of the meat ; the lower layer is the remainder of 

 the meat. The moisture content of the upper layer is more im- 

 portant in relationship to mold growth than the total water con- 

 tent of the sample, because this portion is first attacked. It is 

 impossible to obtain exact data as to the water content necessary 

 for mold growth, because of the difficulty of obtaining a uniform 

 sample of the upper layer. In Table XII the figures are ap- 

 proximate values for the moisture content of the separate layers. 



In every case the percentage of water in the upper layer is 

 much higher than in the lower layer or in the general sample 

 and is high enough to support the growth of the more destructive 

 molds. The percentage of water based on the general sample 

 would lead one to believe this to be a well-dried copra that would 

 be resistant to mold attack. 



