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THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[May  i,  1893. 
Coconut  Poonac. 
The  extraction  of  oil  from  copra  on  the 
commercial  scale  is  performed  by  first  crushing 
and  afterwards  pressing  the  same.  The  residue 
of  the  copra,  deprived  of  the  greater  part  of  its 
oil,  is  called  poonac.  Coconut  cake  or  poonac 
is  classified  as  chekku  and  mill  poonac,  according 
as  the  extraction  of  the  oil  has  been  performed 
in  the  native  mill  or  chekku,  or  in  mills  where 
hydraulic  pressure  is  used.  As  a rule  the  chekku- 
made  poonac  contains  more  oil  than  the  mill 
poonac,  which  gives  the  former  a higher  value 
as  a feeding  stuff  for  cattle. 
The  author  has  made  a great  many  determin- 
ations of  oil  in  samples  of  mill  poonac,  and  the 
following  may  he  taken  as  representing  the 
minimum  maximum  and  average  amounts  of  oil 
left  in  Ceylon-made  poonac: — 
Determinations  of  Moisture  and  Oil  in  Mill 
Coconut  Poonac. 
Per  cent. 
Per  cent. 
Per  cent. 
Moisture 
15- 
11-2 
11-71 
Oil  ... 
8-0  (min.) 
16 -0  (max.) 
11-59  average. 
The  following  are  determinations  of  moisture 
and  oil  in  two  samples  of  chekku  poonac  : — 
Determinations  of  Moisture  and  Oil  in  Chekku 
Coconut  Poonac. 
Per  cent. 
Per  cent. 
Moisture... 
13- 
11-8 
Oil  
16-7 
14-5 
I believe,  however,  the  chekku  or  native  mill 
is  capable  of  removing  more  oil  from  the  copra 
than  is  represented  by  these  two  analyses.  In 
a sample  analysed  by  Mr.  John  Hughes,  that 
analyst  found  moisture  13 '04,  and  oil  1093  per 
cent.  In  France,  by  a steaming  process  in  addition 
to  hydraulic  pressure,  considerably  more  oil  is 
removed  from  the  copra  than  is  effected  by  the 
Ceylon  mills. 
Coconut  poonac  is  largely  used  in  Ceylon  as 
a cattle  food.  In  London,  this  substance  is  also 
sold,  and  is  sometimes  guaranteed  to  contain  oil 
15  per  cent,  albumenoids  19  per  cent,  and  carbo- 
hydrates 40  per  cent. 
The  following  may  be  taken  as  fairly  represent- 
ing the  composition  of  coconut  poonac  in 
Ceylon  : — 
Composition  of  Coconut  Poonac. 
Mill. 
Chekku. 
Moisture... 
11-7 
12-4 
Oil 
11-6 
15-0 
Albumenoids 
19- 
18-0 
Carbo-hydrates  ... 
43-2 
41-0 
Woody  fibre 
6- 
5‘6 
Ash  
8 '5 
8-0 
100-0 
100-0 
Nutrient  ratio 
I : 3-75 
T : 4-36 
Nutrient  value 
91-2 
96-5 
In  calculating  the  nutrient  ratio  and  nutrient 
value  I have  taken  the  starch  equivalent  of  the 
pil  at  2 5. 
Coconut  poonac,  as  represented  by  the  London 
analysis  given  above,  would  have  a nutrient 
ratio  of  1 : 4'08,  and  a nutrient  value  of  96'5. 
In  Biedermann’s  “ Central  blatt  fiir  Agricultur- 
Chemie,  as  quoted  by  the  “Journal  of  the 
Chemical  Society,"  occurs  an  analysis  of  coconut- 
meal  which  differs  chemically  from  coconut  poonac 
only  in  having  a smaller  proportion  of  the  original 
oil  or  fat  left  in  it.  This  substance  and  also 
palm -nut  meal  have  been  used  mixed  with  oats 
as  food  for  horses.  The  writer  in  the  publication 
mentioned  says  Some  of  the  horses  of  the  7th 
Cuirassiers  were  fed  with  a mixture  of  oats  and 
meal,  and  compared  with  others  fed  on  oats 
only.  The  results  in  the  former  case  were  most 
satisfactory ; the  reduction  in  the  cost  of  horse 
keep  amounting  to  50  frs.  per  annum.”  The 
following  are  the  analyses  referred  to. 
Analysis  of  Coconut  and  Palmnut  Meals. 
By  A.  Petermann. 
Coconut 
Palmnut 
meal. 
meal. 
Water 
1311 
10-59 
Albumenoids 
19-16 
14-98 
Fat 
6-70 
5-08 
Mucilage  digestible  fibre  «S;c. 
43-91 
50-49 
Fibre  
7-40 
15  05 
Ash  
9-72 
3;81 
100-00 
100-00 
Nutrient  ratio 
1 : 316^ 
1 : 4-22 
To  these  figures  I might  add  the  nutrient 
value  calculated  in  the  usual  way  for  coconut 
meal  79-82,  for  palmnut  meal  78 ' 1 7. 
Coconut  Butter. 
Of  late  years  a new  article  has  been  placed 
upon  the  market  called  coconut  butter.  A 
published  analysis  represents  it  as  having  the 
following  composition 
Analysis  of  Coconut  Butter. 
Fatty  matter  ...  ...  ...  99-632 
Mineral  matter  ...  ...  'Oil 
Water  ...  ...  ...  -357 
100-000 
This  substance  is  said  to  be  prepared  according 
to  Dr.  Schlink’s  method  by  treating  coconut  oil 
with  alcohol  and  animal  charcoal.  This  treat- 
ment removes  the  fragrant  fatty  acids  of  the 
aromatic  oils,  leaving  a white  product  of  the 
consistency  of  butter,  which  melts  at  25°C.  and 
possesses  a sweet  agreeable  taste.  It  is  said  to 
be  an  easily-digested  vegetable  fat,  remarkably 
free  from  the  tendency  to  turn  rancid,  so  character- 
istic of  the  oil  from  which  it  is  made. 
Coconut  Waste, 
The  following  is  a partial  analysis  of  coconut 
waste,  the  substance  removed  from  the  coconut 
husk  in  preparing  coir  fibre.  The  analysis  had 
for  its  object  to  ascertain  the  proportion  of 
cellulose  or  indigestible  fibre  present.  The 
analysis  reveals  the  great  capacity  of  this  sub- 
stance for  containing  moisture.  It  may  contain 
above  80  per  cent  of  water  without  exhibiting 
a moist  appearance.  Hence  it  is  useful,  especially 
if  first  dried,  as  an  absorbent  for  sanitary 
purposes  i— > 
