and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— Oct-, 1910. 377 



OUR PALM PRODUCTS FOR THE 

 THIRD QUARTER OF 1910. 



ADVANCES ALL ROUND. 

 Our Coconut Oil exports to 3rd October for 

 the year are no less than 448,301 cwt. against 

 350,699 cwt at same date last year or 97,602 cwt. 

 in excess ; and it lo-iks as if it was to be a very 

 good year for this very important product. The 

 total export for last year, the whole year, was 

 only 581,478 cwt. Our record year in the history 

 of this product was 1903, when we sent off no less 

 than 665,559 cwts. 



Our Copra export to date is 562,214 cwt., the 

 best three-quarters for the last four years. Last 

 year was our greatest for this, reaching 772,032 

 cwt., or about one-eighth of the world's total 

 production; but it looks small as compared 

 with the Philippines with their 2,060,000 cwt. 

 per annum. We have no figures for their other 

 nut produce ; but, for planted area and actual 

 nut crops, we can doubtless hold our own with 

 any other country, with our estimated annual 

 total of say B42,000,000 worth of all sorts, inclu- 

 ding our huge local consumption This should 

 give our readers some idea of the importance of 

 this splendid ever-increasing industry. 



Copra touched a record price of R9350 about 

 the middle of the year, since when and, indeed, 

 for the whole year, it has been remarkably 

 steady with a strong upward tendency, although 

 now it is down to R90to R91; aud today it has 

 gone even below R90. It seems quite clear now 

 that the enhanced price of Copra in Europe and 

 the U. S. A. is caused by the general shortage 

 and high price of all kinds of animal fats, the 

 price of hogs' lard in particular having advanced 

 largely ; in fact, it is nearly double what it 

 was two or three years ago. 



Shipments of Desiccated Coconut were until 

 lately behind those of last year; but now the 

 swing is the other way and we are 542,9891b. 

 in excess, our total to date being 19,004,883 lb. 

 against 18,461,8991b. in 1909. The first quarter 

 was a very poor one for millers ; but, towards 

 Juue, prices gradually improved, with the chea- 

 per sugar, when no doubt manufacturing went 

 ahead, both home and foreign. The high prices 

 ot Oil and Copra, right to the end of the quarter 

 now under review, ran up the price of nuts to 

 such a figure that, had Desiccated Coconut not 

 risen in sympathy — which is seldom the case, 

 the mills could not have gone on working. 



With copra at R90 to R91, nuts rose to R75 

 and over, per 1,000; but the question is where are 

 we to be as regards crops the next few years, 

 with such a very scanty rain-fall, over our best 

 nut-bearing area? The average rain-fall north of 

 Colombo for the last four years is not more than 

 46 inches, with about 20 inches to date this year. 

 It will be a wonder if we get anything like fair 

 average crops of nuts in the near future; but, if 

 we do, we shall begin to conclude that the coco- 

 nut tree manages to mature its crop on very little 

 rain. From all accounts, Chilaw and Puttalam 

 have suffered most during our very dry cycle. 



Poonac with 211,669 cwts. exported to end of 

 the quarter is fully 62,710 cwts. in excess of 1909. 

 This 



important article of fodder is now so high 



48 



in price that many of the poorer natives use 

 but little of it; hence doubtless the increase 

 in export. They use much more chekkoo (native 

 mill) poonac which being richer in oil, is more 

 nutritious ; while the best of all for working 

 cattle is the gingelly poonac, which we get 

 chiefly from South India, 



The total of Nuts in Shell, the valuable raw 

 material, sent away to date, is 12,265,819 against 

 12,572,403 ; and the export fairly well distri- 

 buted, but has gone chiefly to Great Britain. 

 This shortage, we think, can be accounted for 

 by the fact that when price is high the demand 

 falls off. 



There is not the least doubt that if our local 

 oil and nut manufactories are to be fostered, 

 both Copra and Nuts in Shell should have a 

 fair export tax put on them now. We take this 

 opportunity of drawing our local "Chancellor 

 of the Exchequer's " notice to this as a fair and 

 equitable tax, in return for the abolition of the 

 Toll tax, which always has been particularly 

 hard on the poorer natives of Ceylon. This, with 

 a fair Vehicles tax, according to the narrowness 

 and consequent destructive poiver of the tyre, 

 would, we feel sure, be much more satis- 

 factory, and, besides, the tax on Copra and Nuts 

 would be a great help towards the very much 

 required hospital accommodation for our huge 

 native population. 



The Coir figures for this year, both for yarn 

 and for fibre, are a good deal ahead of 1909. 

 Mills are working considerably more ; but they 

 all want better prices and these the Trade do 

 not seem inclined to give. 



DEPARTURE OF MR. WILLIAM 

 WICHERLEY. 



A FEW FINAL REMARKS. 

 In a brief final chat, before his departure 

 home, Mr William Wicherley, the London Ceara 

 rubber expert, had a number of interesting 

 remarks to make to our representative. 



Osaka. 



In response to an enquiry he said:— "The 

 Ceara that I have seen in Ceylon is not exactly 

 the image of the Ceara grown in Brazil but it is 

 very good rubber and, grown in the proper parts 

 of Ceylon, would be a very profitable product. 

 It is a great pity that the systematic culture of 

 this particular tree has been abandoned in favour 

 of the Para, which, although an excellent tree, is 

 not answering exactly to expectations. In my 

 opinion Ceara should be confined to the dry 

 zones of Ceylon, on elovations where there is a 

 maximum rainfall of 60 inches, 50 would be 

 better, such as north of Maha Iluppalama, 

 and all round there, right up to Jaffna, and 

 particularly in the district now being traversed 

 by the new line to Maunar. The tree should 

 be planted very close and raised under the sys- 

 tem of sowing seeds at stake. In no case 

 should the plants be raised in the nursery and 

 taken out as this tends to an irregular system 

 of branching which is fatal to the future wel- 

 fare of the Ceara tree. The ideal Ceara tree 

 throws up a bolo of at least 12 feet and thon 



