in. a, 2 Brill, Parker, and Yates: Copra and Coconut Oil 



83 



Japan sulphur in the United States. In 1915 the United States 

 Geological Survey :o reports that during the calendar years 

 1911-14 Japan exported to the United States 16,185, 24,505, 

 15,317, and 21,913 tons of sulphur, respectively. If all of the 

 nuts grown in the Philippines, approximately 431,387,000, were 

 made into copra by the sulphur dioxide process, not more than 

 3,500 tons of sulphur would be required annually. 



Pure coconut oil is water white and free from acidity and 

 rancidity. It cannot be obtained from copra which has been 

 acted upon by microorganisms. We would define good copra as 

 coconut meat containing from 4 to 6 per cent water and 65 per 

 cent oil, calculated on anhydrous meat, with an acid content of 

 less than 1 per cent acid (oleic) and free from dirt and smoke. 

 Such copra would find top prices on the world's market, and 

 there is no reason why with time and improved methods Philip- 

 pine copra could not be the world's standard rather than the 

 poorest quality. The increased money value of such a product 

 can be readily seen from a consideration of weight losses in 

 storage and during shipment. Further the oil obtainable due 

 to lack of necessity of purifying it from free fatty acids, ran- 

 cidity, and color add materially to its value. The cost of refining 

 commercial coconut oil is estimated at 8 pesos per each 1 per 

 cent fatty acids per ton of oil. 



Below are given comparative figures of market quotations for 

 best-quality raw co:onut oil and the ordinary commercial product. 



Table XXI. — Comparison of prices in pounds sterling per ton of various 

 grades of coconut oil in the London market.' 1 



Date. 



Oil. 



Cochin. 



Ceylon. 



Commer- 

 cial copra. 





52-54 



60 



51-53 



49-51 



50 



49-51 



45-51 

 46-49 

 38-48 









'Tropical Life (Dec, 1915), 236. 



FURTHER SUGGESTION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF COPRA 



Ripe nuts only should be used for the production of copra, be- 

 cause only fully matured nuts produce copra containing the maxi- 

 mum oil content. 21 The practice of picking green nuts in the 



Cox, Alvin J., Bureau of Science Press Bull. (1916), No. 54. 

 See Walker, H. S., This Journal (1906), 1, 58. 



