and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society. — January, 191, 



87 



within 25 cents per candy of its greatest price 

 which was touched during the previous year — 

 a price never reached in its former history. 



Desiccated Coconut. — The greatest increase 

 of our exports is in this article with no less than 

 22,604^546 lb. for the year ! The demand seemed 

 to be greater than ever, owing probably to the 

 very heavy manufacture of confectionery in the 

 first half of the "Coronation" year. The United 

 Kingdom took 15,905,804 1b.. or little less than 

 our total export in the year 1902. The six years 

 of short rainfall (averaging about 59 inches 

 only, against 41 years' average of 82 91 inches) 

 began to tell very much on the size and 

 quality of coconuts, with the result that it re- 

 quired considerably over 3£ nuts to the pound 

 of "desiccated." Prices ranged from 19| cents 

 to 264 cents, the year ending with 22J cents per 

 pound for ordinary assortment, but the heavy 

 consignments to Europe, towards the third 

 quarter, caused a fall in prices, while people 

 looked for the usual " cold weather'' rise. Mills 

 indeed were compelled to go slow ; while some 

 had even to "shut down" for a time. The ex- 

 ports for the three years preceding that now 

 under review, were remarkably even, the 

 greatest being that of 1908 with 27,410,230 lb. 

 The question is — Will the trade demand for this 

 article continue to increase in the present day 

 and with the past ratio ? This is very doubtful, 

 for a luxury such as desiccated coconut un- 

 doubtedly is. It is clear, however, that there 

 are new uses, and now it is being used so freely 

 for " curries " that we need fear no great fall— 

 ing-off in the future. Expotts of this import- 

 ant product were unknown prior to 1884 or 

 1885, and even now the industry i.s practi- 

 cally confined to our own little colony. 

 Coconuts were being sold to the Mills, and 

 to copra-men at rates reaching Us. 64*50 per 

 1,000 in the first and second quarters and 

 falling to Rs. 52 in the last quarter, when prices 

 of desiccated nut and copra also fell so con- 

 siderably, that there was a very small margin 

 of profit and when both these — desiccating and 

 copra drying — fell off very much. Some special 

 lots of nuts fetched nearly Rs. 70, but the 

 above prices are a fair average. 



Coconut Poonac. — It would appear that 

 there is but little chance of the export of this 

 article ever increasing in the future, and it is 

 clear that other cattle foods must be taking its 

 place in Europe, or most probably, the higher 

 cost of "poonac" may be the cause of a fallingoff. 

 We exported only 213,982 cwt. last year against 

 309,589 in 1910, while it reached 304, 642 cwt. in 1 908 



Nuts in Shell. — There is a considerable 

 falling-off in the export of these, the figures for 

 the year being 15,589,189 nuts against no less 

 than 21,188,692 nuts in 1908. As stated already, 

 the size of the nut and quality were never so 

 poor as in 1911 and at present, owing no doubt to 

 the consecutive years of decreased rainfall over 

 our chief nut zone, north of Colombo ; while 

 south of Colombo as far as Matara, with a 

 heavier rainfall, the yield, nevertheless, has also 

 been poor but quality better. It is, we believe, 

 a well-known fact that a wet climate is not 

 at all conducive tola heavy coconut crop,and that 

 a rainfall of 50 to 60 inches, if well distributed, 

 suits this palm best, with an average soil. 



Coir. Yaen and Fibre. — Yarn export last year 

 was a little over 1910 and will probably continue 

 to be very steady in export and in price ; but 

 there has been a very remarkable rise in fibre. 

 While "Bristle" No. 1 and No. 2 are very 

 steady at former prices, "Mattress" fibre has 

 risen from Rs. l - 25 to Rs. 5 per cwt in Colombo ! 

 Mills have accordingly been working during the 

 year " full blast," while several new ones (run 

 up in 1909 and 1910 and never worked in that 

 period) are now all working at high pressure — so 

 much so that the demand for machine hands for 

 the mills is very great. Thanks to the increased 

 uses of the last-named fibre (including the 

 making of "fenders" for the great defenders of 

 the Empire, the "Dreadnoughts' ) these high 

 prices seem to have come to stay. Let us hope 

 the pendulum may not start swinging the other 

 way, lest it may be a case of too many new Mills 

 being rushed up ! This " fibre boom " has re- 

 sulted so far, in nut growers making an extra 

 rupee or two on every 1,000 nuts they sell, by 

 the increased demand for the coconut husks. 



In conclusion, we cannot help thinking that 

 our coconut palm enterprise is in a very sound 

 condition ; but there are some amongst us who 

 think that the local manufacturers of the pro- 

 ducts should get groater encouragement than at 

 present and that a levy should be raised on the 

 steady stream of our raw materials, nuts and 

 copra, sent away from the Colony to foreign 

 lands, to feed their great factories. The wish 

 is to impose an export tax, and chat we should 

 send the Continent of Europe our manufactured 

 goods only, and bo find further employment 

 lor more of the Ceylonese people, who are 

 never likely to find their way from the towns 

 to work on the estates —Coconut, Tea or Rubber. 

 There is good motive involved in the wish. 

 But the policy thus indicated— apart from the 

 general objection to export levies in the 

 Colonies — touches a question which has two 

 sides in reference to the Continent of Europe 

 and opens a great vista of controversy. For 

 instance, what would Ceylon say if, for instance, 

 Russia by way of reprisal (for our interference 

 with Free Trade in Copra,) raised its Import 

 Duty on our Ceylon Tea? And this is only one of 

 the complications that would ensue if provocation 

 was given in the way indicated. For, it must be 

 remembered that our Continental customers 

 have Consuls all over the world whose bounden 

 duty is to inform of any impending fiscal or cus- 

 toms duty which affects their trade. In the end, 

 Ceylon aud its people would be sure to suffer. 



HOW TO MAK E COC ONUT CREAM. 



Obtain one large coconut, and in breaking it 

 open save its milk. Pour a pound and a half of 

 granulated sugar into a pan with the milk of the 

 nut, and heat slowly together until the sugar is 

 melted. Then let the mixture simmer for about 

 five minutes Grate the fresh coconut and add 

 it very gradually. Boil for ten minutes after 

 the coconut is all in, and sfch' constantly to keep 

 it from sticking to the bottom of the pot and 

 burning. Pour out upon buttered china plates 

 and cut into squares. This should then be set 

 into a cool place and left for forty-eight hours, 

 as it takes about that time to harden. — D, 

 Graphic, Dec. 8. 



