OF THE COCO-NUT TREE. 
139 
is generally performed by one strol^e.. The watery part of 
the kernel is dissipated by exposing it to the sun for a few 
days, during which period it acquires a considerable degree 
of rancidity. In this state the kernel is called copra, or 
copperas. The oil is extracted from copra by grinding it 
in a very clumsy mill, which is worked by bullocks. Oil 
has for some years past been extracted from copra in large 
quantities at Colombo, by means of the power of a steam- 
engine. The value of copperas exported from Ceylon, in 
1813, amounted to 27,975 rix dollars. 
The substance which remains after the oil has been ex- 
tracted from copra is called taur, which serves well to feed 
pigs, poultry, &c. 
Ceylon exports annually a great quantity of coco-nuts, 
chiefly to India. In 1809, the number amounted to 
S59775S75. The medium price may be stated at about 
3s. 6d. per hundred, or nearly one halfpenny a-piece. 
According to Koster, the value of coco-nuts in Brazil 
is about 5s. 6d. per hundred, or a little more than 
^®oths of a penny each. In Ceylon they pay an export 
duty of 5 per cent. These nuts are sometimes brought 
to this country from the West Indies. The captains 
of ships use them instead of wedges of timber, to fill up 
the vacua between the casks and other packages which 
compose their cargoes. On this account, the freightage of 
the nuts adds little to their original value. They are there- 
fore now said to be as common in the shops and streets of 
London as the orange. I know they may be procured 
in great abundance at Liverpool. 
Coco-nut oil may be exported from Colomba, at about 
Is. 6d. per gallon ; and, at this price, a large quantity is 
annually sent to different parts of India. In Java, where 
it is an article of importation, the market price is usually 
about six Spanish dollars a-picul, which is equal to about 
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