234 



THE COCOANUT PALM. 



and connections, all of best materials and workmanship, would cost 

 450Z. Packing and delivery in London, lOZ. 



The cocoanut shell furnishes cups, which, carved on and set in 

 silver, are a great ornament. It also makes small baskets, cups, 

 ladles, spoons, and other such domestic articles, and fanciful orna- 

 ments. By being burnt and pulverized, and prepared with other 

 ingredients, it produces blacking not inferior to Day and Martin's, 

 lampblack, black paint, &c. 



Cocoanut Fibre or Coir. — The fibrous husk of the cocoanut is not 

 its least valuable product, and gives rise to a very large trade, both 

 in the East and to Europe. At first it was only used in this country 

 for stuffing mattresses and cushions, but its applications have been 

 enlarged and its value greatly increased by mechanical processes ; and 

 in a small pamphlet, issued by Mr. Trfeloar more than twenty years 

 ago, he stated that its natural capabilities having been brought out, 

 coir has been found suited for the production of a variety of articles 

 of great utility and elegance of workmanship, table mats, fancy 

 baskets, and bonnets. Instead of being formed into rough cordage 

 only, and mats made by hand, by means of ingeniously constructed 

 machinery, the fibre is rendered sufficiently fine for the loom, and 

 matting of different textures and coloui'ed figures is produced, while 

 a combination of wool in pleasing designs gives the richness and 

 effect of hearthrugs and carpeting. Brushes and brooms for house- 

 hold and stable purposes, matting for sheepfolds, pheasantries, and 

 poultry yards, church cushions and hassocks, hammocks, clothes 

 lines, cordage of all sizes, and string for nurserymen and others; 

 for tying up trees and other garden pui'poses ; nose bags for horses, 

 mats and bags for seed crushers, oil pressors and candle manufac- 

 turers, are only a few of the varied purposes to which the fibrous 

 coating of the cocoanut is now applied. 



When the landholder gets his nuts down from the tree, they are given 

 over to be peeled. The peeling process is done in a very quick and 

 dexterous manner by the natives. A crowbar, or a sharp-pointed piece 

 of wood, is fixed erect on the ground, and the upright end serves to 

 remove the husks ; the charge for peeling off the husks is trifling. 

 For breaking the nuts and drying the kernels, nothing is charged ; 

 but, according to the usage of the country, the breaker and preparer 

 get the shells of the nuts. The husks, however, remain the property 

 of the owner, and formerly used to be sold off for local consumption. 

 But since coir yarn began to be so largely exported to England, it is 

 seldom that the owners sell off husks as fuel, as they find that by 

 burying them and then offering them for sale, they realise double the 

 amount that they would when fresh. The best j)laee for burying the 

 husks is the river bank where there are strong cuiTents. At ebb-tide 

 large pits are dug, and the husks counted and thrown in ; and before 

 the flood commences, they are covered up with mud, leaves, &c., and 

 made quite secure. When the monsoon sets in, and the freshes come 

 down, the pits are under fresh water, and from husks so rotted, the 

 best coloured fibre is made. The reddish stuff' known in the market 

 as Codaugaloor fibre, is generally prepared from husks buried in 

 places where the water is throughout the year saltish. The older the 



