212 



THE COCOANTJT PALM. 



At Tahiti tliere are about 200,000 cocoaniit palms, whicli produced 

 in 1874 more than 12,500,000 nuts. About 600,000 only were ex- 

 ported, and nearly 2,000,000 kilos, of copperah, or dried cocoanut 

 pulp. In 1868, 690 tons of cocoanut oil were shipped from Tahiti ; 

 in 1873, 420 tons of oil and 1368 tons of copperah. 19,000 kilos, of 

 copperah were shipped in the same year from the Mai'quesas. In 1864, 

 900 tons of cocoanut oil and 10 tons of coir were shipped from the 

 Navigators' Islands, and within the last year or two a cocoanut-fibre 

 machine has been set in full working order at Apia, Samoa Islands. 



The Friendly Islands exported in' 1866, 704 tons of cocoanut oil, 

 worth 21Z. per ton. The manufacture is carried on there in the 

 rudest manner. The nut is scraped and placed, mixed with a little 

 sea water, in hollow logs to putrefy. The oil disengages itself, and 

 is collected at the bottom of the ti'ough. 



The following has been the shipments of oil from the Feejee 

 Islands : 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



1864 

 1865 

 1866 

 1867 

 1868 

 1869 

 1870 



tons. 

 600 

 500 

 459 

 150 

 250 

 260 

 200 



£ 



13,200 

 11,000 

 9,000 

 3,260 

 5,000 

 5,500 

 4,950 



From the Tuamotus Archipelago 3000 tons of copperah were shipped 

 in 1873, but this is nothing to what may be expected. The single 

 island of Anaa, it is stated, has more than 7,000,000 cocoa palms.* 

 Assuming half of these are too old or too young to fruit, there remain 

 3,500,000, and supposing 1,500,000 of these required to nourish the 

 1500 inhabitants and their live stock, there would remain 2,000,000 

 to furnish the raw materials of commerce. As a very ordinary tree 

 would furnish 25 nuts yearly, this would give 50,000,000, and as 

 100 nuts yield 50 lbs. of copperah, we have a total of 25,000,000 lbs. 

 available for export. It might yield 12,000 tons with proper manage- 

 ment. The number of trees in the Tuamotus will have more than 

 trebled by 1879, for large plantations were made in 1866, and it 

 takes ten years to bring the tree into full fruiting. 



For preparing copperah it is well to collect only ripe nuts, and 

 not to break the nut until a month or six weeks after it has been 

 gathered, the copperah then dries more quickly, is richer in oil, and 

 does not turn mouldy. 



Jamaica. — In a recent report by Mr. R. Thomson, the colonial 

 botanist, he states, that within the last few years no less than 18,500 

 cocoanut palms have been planted on the long sandy spit known as 

 the Palisadoes, running from Kingston to Port Eoyal, and about 

 4000 more were to be planted. He adds : " I have already estimated 



* ' Revne Maritime et Coloniale,' April 1875, p. 81. Paris. 



