and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— Sep-, 1910. 



289 



WEST INDIAN COCONUT PRODUCTS 

 I NDUSTR Y. 



Prospects for the Production op Coconuts 

 in the Island. 

 Consul Franklin D Hale furnishes the follow- 

 ing information, derived from official and other 

 sources, concerning the coconut industry of 

 Trinidad and Tobago : — 



The soil and climate of these islands are 

 favourable to coconut growing and nut produc- 

 tion, especially along the coast and in interior 

 districts which come within the influence of the 

 salty atmosphere. Undeveloped crown lands will 

 cost $12 an acre, and privately owned lands, 

 suitable for such use, from $20 upward. Much 

 land bought from the government is he'd by 

 speculators, but there are still large areas owned 

 by the government and by private parties which 

 can be purchased at reasonable rates. The best 

 lands in Trinidad are the coast lands in the south 

 half of the island. In Tobago, the island being 

 small, nearly all are coast lands and directly 

 under the influence of the sea breezes. 



A tree begins to produce nuts in four to five 

 years after planting, and reaches maturity in 

 twelve or fourteen years. The average life of a 

 healthy tree is fifty years, often very much 

 longer. The production of nuts does not average 

 more than 100 per mature tree. At present coco- 

 nuts for export are invoiced at from $13 to $22, a 

 probable average of $16 per 1,000, copra at 4 to 5 

 cents per pound, and the oil at 90 cents a gallon. 

 The nuts are mostly shipped to Philadelphia 

 and New York, the copra to Europe, and the oil 

 to the other West India islands. 



Bud Rot and Pests. 

 Coconut trees are planted about 150 to the acre 

 and 15 to 18 feet apart. Unskilled labour, coolie 

 labour chiefly, is paid 30 to 50 cents per day, 

 while the pickers get 90 cents per 1,000, and a 

 higher wage if the trees are very tall. In some 

 sections the trees are being affected with bud 

 rot, but every effort known to science is being 

 used to limit the spread of the disease. It 

 is not, however, generally prevalent, but works 

 most injury in sections where there is too much 

 moisture. Insect pests have also to be conten- 

 ded with, but these thus far have not caused 

 much alarm among the producers. The natural 

 annual death rate of the trees, as stated by a 

 leading horticulturist, does not exceed 5 per 

 1,000, and 5 to 10 per cent, in sections of plan- 

 tations where the bud rot prevails. 



The coconut industry is considered very pro- 

 fitable and is rapidly growing here. The largest 

 producer grows 5,000,000 nuts a year, another 

 3,000,000, while the remainder are mostly small 

 producers. 



The shells are looked upon as waste, except as 

 they rot and become a fertilizer, or when used on 

 the large estates for road making. An effort 

 was made a few years ago to utilise the fibre as 

 a marketable product, but the effort proved un- 

 successful, probably because it was not carried 

 out on the right lines, 



Island of Tobago. 



Tobago is a small island separated from Trini- 

 dad by a channel 18 miles wide, communication 

 between the two being maintained regularly by 

 steamer service and by wireless telegraph. To- 



bago is considered naturally very rich in agri- 

 cultural possibilities, aud it is stated that there 

 are good opportunities for the development of a 

 large coconut estate. The area of the island is 

 about 75,000 acres, with a population of 20,000. 

 Iu the last fiscal year it exported, among other 

 products, 238,145 coconuts, 229,012 pounds of 

 copra, and 12,697 gallons of coconut oil. 



Excellent land for coconut growing is 

 found on nearly the entire coast, and 

 much of it is on the market at very rea- 

 sonable prices, over-sea owners disposing of 

 their holdings since the amalgamation of the 

 two islands into one colony, which the foreign 

 owners think has had the effect of making 

 taxation more burdensome. Trinidad people 

 are, however, making investments in Tobago, 

 having faith in its future. No doubt Tobago is 

 specially adapted to the growing of coconuts. 



The total area of both islands is about 1,195,000 

 acres, of which two-thirds are uncultivated, and 

 it isestiinated that 20,000 acres are devoted to the 

 production of coconuts. The following statis- 

 tics of exports show the growth of the industry 

 during the years named : — 



Coconuts, Copra, Coconut oil. 



Year Number, Tons, Gallons. 



1902-3 10,400,000 592 25,885 



1905- 6 ll,000,00n 890 26,305 



1906- 7 13,000,000 1,367 16,863 



1907- 8 15,000,000 1,032 12,342 



1908- 9 18,500,000 1,262 4,590 



For the calendar year 1909 the export of nuts 

 was approximately 20,000,000. It takes 6,000 to 

 6,500 nuts to produce a ton of copra, and from 40 

 to 60 nuts to yield a gallon of oil. 



The exports or immigration tax on coconuts 

 is 20 cents per 1,000 nuts, and on copra 76 cents 

 per 1,000 pounds. The export or agricultural tax 

 on coconuts is 6 cents per 1,000 nuts, and on copra 

 16 cents per 1,000 pounds. In usiDg the figures 

 heretofore given of acreage, trees per acre, and 

 nuts per tree, with the number exported, it will 

 be seen that there is quite a large local consump- 

 tion and waste.— New York Oil Reporter, July 25. 



CHINA CLOTH FROM DANANA FIBRE. 



H.M. Consul at Chungking (Mr. J L Smith) 

 reports that an exhibit was made at Chung- 

 king Fair of banana cloth. The process of 

 manufacture is as follows : — The stalk of the 

 banana, when about one year old, is unrolled 

 and steamed over cauldrons of water until it 

 becomes soft ; the green outer skin is then 

 easily removed by passing strips of the stalk 

 through an instrument provided with two blunt 

 blades, which act as scrapers. The residue con- 

 tains the fibre ; it is enclosed in a cloth and 

 pounded in order to drive out the moisture. 

 The fibre is then shredded and twisted into 

 thread for weaving. After the steaming, the 

 method employed to extract the fibre is similar 

 to that adopted locally in the case of ramie 

 fibre. Up to the present only a few pieces of 

 the cloth have been made experimentally, for 

 which reason the price is high, viz., 14'10 dols. 

 (L 1. 3s. 6d.) per roll 15 ft in length by 3 ft. in 

 breadth. It is claimed that the cloth is ex- 

 tremely durable, and it is hoped that, with a 

 lower price rendered possible by manufacture 

 on a largor scale, it may, in time, be used for 

 summer wear,— Board of Trade Journal, July 28. 



