234 



RECREATION. 



rica. He had a beautiful avenue - of ba- 

 nana plants in his garden, which bore pro- 

 lific crops. The ripe fruit was eaten at all 

 hours of the day, and I never once heard 

 of any ill result from their being so large- 

 ly partaken of by old and young, as is 

 nearly always the case when other fruits 

 are eaten to excess in hot countries. Often 

 we had them served at meals, either baked 

 in an open pie or stewed. Prepared in that 

 way, they are agreeable and healthful. My 

 friend also utilized them by making a fine 

 flour, out of the dried fruit, which was 

 fully equal to corn flour and especially 

 beneficial to children and invalids. 



At present the banana is grown with 

 every success in Central, and many parts 

 of South Africa. In the West Indies it 

 thrives amazingly, and it is from Jamaica 

 that the best quality of dried banana comes 

 to the London market. Madeira and the 

 Canary Isles send an enormous quantity 

 of ripe green fruit to England, and owing 

 to their being within easy distance they 

 possess great advantages over other com- 

 petitors for the British trade. In many 

 parts of South Africa the banana does 

 well. It is largely cultivated in the colony 

 of Natal, and to some extent in the 

 Transvaal, where frost does not prevail. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF COCOANUT 

 BUTTER. 



The manufacture of cocoanut butter is 

 an industry of some importance in Mann- 

 heim, Germany. The factory is said to be 

 the only one of any considerable size in the 

 empire. It has an output of about 10 tons 

 of butter a day. The business was started 

 in 1886, and, the proprietors say, shows a 

 considerable increase. The product is sold 

 under the name of "Palmin," a registered 

 trade name or cocoanut butter (Kokos- 

 nussbuttcr). H. W. Harris, the American 

 Consul at Mannheim, says, "It is manufac- 

 tured from the kernels of cocoanuts, and 

 is used as a substitute for butter and lard 

 in cooking. As sold, it is generally white 

 in color, almost tasteless, melts at about 80 

 deg. Fahr., and is about of the consistency 

 of mutton or beef tallow. When desired 

 by consumers, as bakers, confectioners, 

 etc., the product is colored to resemble or- 

 dinary butter. When furnished to dealers, 

 it is unlawful to color it. The proprietors 

 claim an analysis of their product shows 

 it to contain more than 99 per cent, vege- 

 table fat, with but a slight trace of water, 

 while ordinary butter contains about 85 per 

 cent, of fat and nearly 15 per cent, of 

 water. It is stated that the substance does 

 not become rancid easily, that it will keep 

 3 or 4 months in a cool room, and that it is 

 much more wholesome and easily digested 

 than the ordinary fats used for baking and 

 cooking. For this reason the product has 

 met with considerable favor in German 



hospitals and other institutions, and for 

 use in army camps. 



"Cocoanut butter is generally put up in 

 square packages wrapped in parchment pa- 

 per, a small percentage being sold in tin 

 cans. The latter are hermetically sealed 

 for shipment during hot weather. The 

 product is sold at one price throughout 

 Germany, namely, about 16 cents a pound, 

 or^about half the price of ordinary butter] 



"The processes are for the most part se- 

 cret, and, it is claimed, are protected by 

 patents. The kernel of the cocoanut is 

 imported in thoroughly dried strips, form- 

 ing the copra of commerce. It is sub- 

 jected to various refining processes by 

 which all the free acids and other sub- 

 stances are separated, leaving only the 

 vegetable fat. In the latter stages of the 

 manufacture, the product resembles ordi- 

 nary butter recently churned. It is placed 

 in machines similar to the separators used 

 in creameries, in which the water and other 

 foreign substances are separated by centri- 

 fugal force. In the manufacture of cocoa- 

 nut butter a by-product, consisting of free 

 acids and other substances, is obtained and 

 sold to soap manufacturers." 



COFFEE CULTIVATION IN SPAIN. 



A number of interesting statements were 

 recently made concerning coffee growing in 

 Spain. "The cultivation of coffee for com- 

 mercial purposes is about to be undertaken 

 for the first time in the province of Mal- 

 aga at the little village of Campanulas, 

 some 5 miles from the capital. 



"As long as Cuba and Porto Rico were 

 Spanish possessions, the cultivation of cof- 

 fee in the peninsula of Spain was forbid- 

 den, but under present conditions, the gov- 

 ernment interposes no objections. Some 

 experiments have been made which indicate 

 that coffee can be advantageously grown in 

 Malaga and elsewhere in Andalusia. Some 

 who have examined the question claim 

 there is not sufficient humidity in the An- 

 dalusian climate. Practical experiments on 

 a large scale will be made, and the result 

 is awaited with great interest. Cuba and 

 Porto Rico formerly supplied Spain with 

 nearly all her coffee, paying the govern- 

 ment a consumption tax of 60 pesetas per 

 100 kilograms ($9.60 for 220.46 pounds) on 

 all coffee entering the peninsula. At pres- 

 ent the import duty on coffee is 140 pese- 

 tas ($22.40) for 100 kilograms, from all 

 countries except from the Spanish island 

 of Fernando Po ; and Spain's supply last 

 year came largely from Valparaiso and 

 other South American ports. Coffee from 

 Fernando Po pays a duty of 105 pesetas 

 ($16.80) for each 100 kilograms. 



"If coffee can be successfully cultivated 

 in the province of Malaga, it is believed it 

 will be generally grown throughout An- 

 dalusia." 



