130 
. His Lordship will be much obliged if you will kindly furnish him 
with your opinion on the specimen forwarded. 
(Signed) " ™ Te s MEADE, 
The Director, Royal Gardens, Kew. 
[ Enclosure. | 
Governor Moroney to Lorp Knutsrorp, 
Government House, Lagos, 
My Lorp. 23rd December 1888. 
T the Colonial Exhibition of 1886 I was given to understand 
that the Mataral colour. of Lagos coir had, in the opinion of brush and 
mat manufacturers (I may mention Messrs. Treloar, of Ludgate Hill), a 
cial advantage which should command for it a ready demand and a 
comparatively high price, «x it could be put regularly and in sufficient 
quantity on the English m 
ecordingly, and in smticipatian of the later development of a 
local manufacture for export of cocoa-nut oil, for whic entertain the 
opinion that the present fecta erop of fruit offers a sufficient 
encouragement, I have had prepared by prison labour in the gaol of 
Lagos a bale of coir sighia 42 lbs. 
3. This return represents the yield of 400 cocoa-nuts, the average 
present price of which is at the rate of 2s. 6d. per hundre 
e bale has been addressed to the de Didius, Kew, and sent 
through the iso Agents for the Colo 
. It is ioe my duty to request that. bar een sie be good 
Senet to invite the co-operation of the Director of the Royal Gardens 
and obtain an v shthorisdies opinion on the specimen for oud 
have, &e 
(Si Cb. ALFRED MOLONEY. 
The Rest Hon. Lord Knutsford, G. C M.G 
&e. &e. 
RoxaL GARDENS, Kew, to COLONIAL OFFICE. 
SIR, Royal Gardens, Kew, 21st idm ry 1889. 
I am desired by Mr. Thiselton Dyer to acknowledge the receipt 
of your letter of the eie instant, forwarding a copy of a despatch from 
the Governor of n the subject of a specimen o oa ga coir 
which =s had forwarded’ to Kew for an opinion as to its me 
specimen, ee of a bale vee 42 ouide. Ms duly 
received rota the n Agents on the ultimo. Sam were 
prepared and eulintitel to respeetable P das and dealers in ns city, 
with a request that they would report upon the value of Lagos coir as 
compared with other coirs now in the London market. 
3. The result of the inquiry is contained in the accompanying papers. 
It would appear in the first place that it is necessary to separate coir 
fibre, as yielded y ca cocoa-nut, into two classes, namely, * bristie” 
-— ‘mat ” The fo e is usually sold at about 307. per 
ton, and the latter * sem 107. per 
4, a sample from Lagos ented these two fibres mixed togeth 
and was not presented in a state suitab!e for sale in this conan 
It is indent that Lagos fibre possesses no particular anao n account o 
its egi but on the other hand, in Messrs. Harriso nd Johnson's 
Is stated to be “ of very good length, which i Sam its value." 
