182 



THE COCO-NUT 



CHAP. 



production of copra ; but local demands are limited and 

 this business can therefore not assume a great scale in 

 the sense in which the copra market or oil market is 

 great. 



COIR 



Coir is the commercial name of the fibre prepared 

 from the husk of the coco-nut. The word is Malay or 

 Indian in origin, but has been adopted into European 

 languages. In countries where coco-nut culture is very 

 old, the use of this fibre likewise dates further back 

 than our knowledge reaches. In Polynesia and extend- 

 ing as far west as the Marianne and Caroline islands, 

 this is the main material used for cordage. It was in 

 use as far west as Ceylon before the discovery of this 

 part of the world by Europeans. In these parts of the 

 world it served not merely for rope, and for string to 

 make fish nets, or to tie the parts of houses together, 

 but to caulk boats, and in various other ways. For 

 caulking boats it is better than most other durable 

 fibres because it will swell more when put into water, 

 and will therefore make a tighter plug. 



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 subject to jerks. 

 As used for fish nets, and in other ways which demand 

 exposure to water, coir has the advantage that it is 

 more durable than most other fibres ; that is, it is less 

 subject to decay. Its tensile strength and its resistance 

 to decay are illustrated by the following table : 



[Table 



