646 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [March 1, 1889. 
As steamers coming direct for Liverpool call at 
Gabes for Alfa, it is surprising that a more extensive 
trade is not carried on in this fruit. It constitutes 
the principal food of the Arabs, the Oasis of Tuzeur 
alone producing annually about 16,000,000 tb. The 
average annual exportation does not exoeed a value 
of £12.000." 
Referring to the Cork forests of Tunis, it is stated 
that these forest', situated in the north, Dear the 
Algerian Iron tier, have only recently been taken in 
hand by the government. The surface covered by the 
forests amounts to 300,000 acres, and forms part of 
the State domain. The sale of trees last year, it is 
said, realised as much as £15,000. The duty former- 
ly imposed on this product has just been removed. 
In the course of a few years a considerable revenue 
will be derived from the cork, which, as the trees 
have only recently been begun to be stripped of the 
virgin bark is not yet of mercantile value.— 
Gardeners' Chronicle. 
THE CEYLON COCONUT OIL V. COCHIN OIL. 
The School of Agriculture, 28th January. 
TO THE BDITOE OF THE "EXAMINEE." 
Dear Sib, — It is a known fact that Cochin oil al- 
ways fetches a higher prioe than Ceylon oil in the 
London market. Referring to the mercantile telegr- 
ams just published, we note Ceylon oil at £27 5s. 
and Cochin oil at £30. It is clear, therefore, that 
Cochin oil is far superior to Ceylon oil, and it will be 
interesting to account for this superior quality. 
During a conversation I had, some time ago, with 
a gentleman from Malabar, we happened to talk about 
this subjsct, and I gathered that this difference in 
the quality of the oil is owing to the difference in 
the methods of drying copperah for extracting the oil. 
In Malabar, copperah is prepared by drying the fruit 
whole with the husk, over a fire. For this purpose, 
big pandals have been constructed in which cooonuts 
are stored after they are plucked and smoked by burn- 
iug coconut leaves, husks, &c, underneath. After the 
fruits have been smoked in this way for about three 
months, the water inside the fruit dries up and the 
kernel is converted into copperah. The husks of the 
fruits are than removed and the copperah is extract- 
ed by the usaal process of splitting the shell. A few 
coconuts which are not properly dried might be found 
which of course when split are carefully dried in 
the sun. 
Coconuts dried over fire in the above way are called 
in Sinhalese " kottapol," and a few such fruits are 
sometimes found in native houses. They are used 
for eating, and they are dried by being kept on the 
wooden structure or pandal over the fire place in the 
kitchen. 
It can now be clearly seen, that the oil extracted 
from copperah dried according to the Malabar method, 
must necessarily be cleaner and far superior in quality 
to the Ceylon oil which, as everybody knows, is ex- 
tracted from copperah prepared by splitting the coco- 
nuts and drying the kernels in the sun or over fire. 
I hope our ooconut growers will gather some useful 
hints from this letter regarding the method of dry- 
ing copperah. — Yours truly, 
H. D. LEWIS. 
[This is certainly the first time we have seen this 
explanation of the superiority of Cochin oil. Have 
any of our readers ever heard of the method of mak- 
ing copperah described above? We were told that 
the higher price of Cochin oil was due partly to its be- 
ing richer stearin, and partly to commercial jugglery ; 
but we did not know that the water was allowed Lu 
be abtorbe 1 by the kernel. — Ed. Ex.] 
[We havii always understood that the superiority 
of Cochin oil was due to the fact that in the long 
■pells of dry weatber all copperah there is sun-dried, 
while in our moist olimate it is fired and smoked. — 
Ed. I. A.\ . 
PLANTING PRODUCTS. 
(From the Thirty-fifth Annual Report of the Ceylon 
Planters' Association, held 16th Feb. 1889.) 
Coffee. — Your Committee regrets that it has little 
to say about this product. Green Bug still asserts 
its sway, though, in some of the districts threatened, 
it has not made the headway expected. There are 
still fields of coffee in Uva. Dimbula and Dikoya 
which will repay care aDd cultivation. Your Com- 
mittee learns that the cultivatiou of coffee raised from 
Coorg seed is now being tried in some districts, and 
trusts that the attempt may prove successful. Tne 
exports for the year ending 31st December 1888 were 
137,793 cwts., value R7,729,241, *s agaiust 170,490 
cwts., value Rll,428,f»46, for the jtar ending 31st 
December, 1887. 
Tea. — The cultivation of thin product has made 
extraordinary strides during the past year. The area 
under plant is estimated to be 187,000 acres and is 
still being extended. Your Committee regrets to have 
to record a considerable fall in prico for this staple 
product during the year, ihe average being ll£d per 
lb against Is lfd per lb for the previous year. It 
is to be hoped, however, that with the opening our 
of new markets and the talling-off in the supply of 
China teas to the London market the downward 
tendency of prices wi 1 be stayed. Still, as was noted 
laBt year, the prices for Ceylon tea as compared with 
Indian tea are satisfactory, while tbe reported falling- 
off in the quality of the tea shipped may be accounted 
for by the severe drought early in the year. Your 
Committee observes with pleasure that markets other 
than the United Kingdom have taken 869,681£ lb. 
The exports for the year ending 31st December 1888 
were 23,820,472 lb, value R12,624,850, as against 
13,834,057 lb, value R8,300,434, for the year ending 
31st December, 1887. 
Cinchona. — The falliug-off in exports noticed by 
your Committee in last year's report still continues, 
the exports during 1888 being 630,250 lb less than 
during 1887. There cau be no doubt that there will 
be a much larger falling-off in 1889. The exports 
for the year ending 31st December 1888 were 12 482, 
817 lb, value Rl.804,011 as against 13,113,067 lb, value 
R2,440,212 for the year ending 31st December, 1887. 
Cacao— The drought of 1888 following that of 1887 
has told on the exports and conditiou of the trees, 
though your Committee reports a continued cessation 
of the attacks of Helopeltis. The cultivation is no 
doubt a remunerative and cheap one when the soil 
and rainfall are favorable. The exports for the year 
ending 31st December 1888 were 12,231 cwt. value 
R580,975 as against 17,460 cwt. value R838.097 for 
the year ending 31st December, 1887. 
Cardamoms. — The cultivatiou of this product has 
recently been much less remunerative than formerly. 
There has accordingly been a considerable decrease 
in the cultivated area causing a heavy falling-off in 
shipments. The exports for the year ending 31st 
December, 1888, were 281,925 lb value K285,843 as 
against 384,015 lb and 55 packages value R416.450 
for the year ending 31st December, 1888. 
Tobacco. — It is with pleasure your Committee reports 
serious attention being paid to this profitable product, 
and from the experiments made and results obtained 
it appears that good prospects can reasonably be 
held out for the success of this new industry when 
the intelligence, energy, and cspital of European 
planters are brought to bear on its cultivation and 
manufacture. The exports of unmanufactured tobacco 
for the year ending 3lst December 1888 were 57, 
282 cwt. value Rl,236,307. 
Liberian Coffee. — The exports for the ^ear endiou 
31st December, 1888, were 1,316 cwt., va'lue R59,255 
against 3,419 cwt., value. Bl'53,8!)? for th> }ear 
ending 31st December, 1887. 
Cotton. — Your Committee is glad to observe that :i 
stimulus is being given to the cultivation of Cotton, 
which though hitherto confined to native 
assume larger proportions hereafter. 
