October i, 1891.1 
THE TROP10AL AQRICULTU RI3T, 
" DESICCATED COCONUT." 
Very fow in the island have an adequate idea 
of ths» extent to which the industry in desiccated 
coconut haa been developed in our midst. A 
Bhort time ago wo referred to the increasing ex- 
ports ; and siuoe then the Chamber of Commerce 
has recognised the importance of this latest pre- 
pared or manufactured produot by including it 
in the list of staple exports in their weekly 
table. Our reFerenoo to the industry as carried 
on in the Veyaagoda ostabli.ahment of the Orient 
Produce Company, Limited, Dematagoda Mills, &c., 
has brought us a letter from a London merchant 
interested in the matter, who roundly declares that, 
like so many other branches of enterprise 
ia Ceylon of recent years, the preparation of 
desiccated coconut is certain erelong to be 
overdone. " We are alarmed," he writes, " at 
the pro-pect of bo m?.ny going into the 
manufacture, knowing that it must mean loss to 
all. The consumption of such an article is, as 
y;iu might suppose, not unlimite l, and any con- 
siderable increase in what, is now being shipped 
would exceed the requirements of all the outlets 
yet discovored. If so many are really starting the 
manufacture, as stated in your issue, the pro- 
duction will bo so much in excess of requirements 
that the fight for survival must end in the ruin of 
some of tho compeiitors." This ia n point on 
which we are unable to express an opinion, seeing 
that our pessimistic correspondent has given us 
no clue to the market demand or to, the jresent 
rate of consumption as compared with what it was 
some years a 0. But this much is certain — that, 
for good or evil, the prcip.ratioa and export of 
desiccated coconut from Ceylon has increased, is 
increasing, and is bound still further to increase 
fur some time to como. A. great impetus has 
been given to the preparation, we understand, 
thrSugh the discovery that Mr. John Brown's pat"nt 
" Desiccator " — the well known toa-drying machine 
— afforded with a little adaptation the very best 
means of drying and desiccating the sliced coconut 
kernels. The process al ogeiher is kept as secret 
08 possible ; but it is understood that the first step 
is to slice up the kernels, and for this purpose 
there seems to be a machine in use (previously 
used for slicing the kernels preparatory to 
grinding in oii-makinf?) with an ingenious 
arrangement of knives that cut up the coconut 
kernels very quickly. Then comes the drying ; 
and for this purpose, as we have said, the 
desiccators are found so suitable that in one mill 
some half-dczen are said to be at work ; while, es 
agents, the Colombo Commercial Company are 
favoured with not a few further orders. To the 
older establishments at Vejangoda and Dematagoda, 
there have lately been added arrangements at 
Kollupitiya Mills (Messrs. Lee, Hedges & Co.) and 
at Negombo (Mr. Akbar's) for the preparation of 
desiccated coconut. On the other hand, to counter- 
balanoe the elifeot of this news, we are able to 
inform our Loudon mercantile friend that a demand 
for the new product in Australia is springing up. 
We had an advertisement the other day from a 
large Melbourne firm, intended to arrange for a 
purchasing agency for this article. Though to some 
extent classed as •' confeotiouery," desiccated coco- 
nut must surely, to a ooneiderable extent, be 
regarded as a "fond product," and as such we have 
some reason to look for a wide apd expanding 
demand such as, wo trust, ijiay ensure a profitable 
market fov all that Ceylon may turn out for many 
years to como. The exports so far recorded in the 
Oharaber'a tabb are as follows ; — 
from 22i'd June to 7th Sept. 1891-559, 5281b. 
Cacao in Eangoon. — The Bawjoon Gazette Of 
Aug. 28th says : — We have just seen a large 
oocoa pod, which Dr. Stephens has received 
from Ceylon from his father's properties. Dr. 
Stephens presented the Agri-Horticultural Gardens 
v/ith a fine cocoa plant, over five feet high, but 
this unfortunately died and he has now obtained 
s°ed for the Gardens, and will be happy to obtain 
some for anyone who wishes to grow cocoa. He 
has also some coffee and tea plants, which he 
will give to anyone who will grow them care- 
fully. Cocoa requires little cultivation and the 
trees are decidedly ornamental. 
Tea fob Horses. — A correspondent sends us the 
following from the Oraphic : — 
Afternoon tea has become such an institution with 
Bn^ilieh people that; oven their horses are to adopt 
the habit. Competent authorities assert that tea ia 
the bo!^t restorative for horses, the animals being 
quite revived after a hard day's work by a drink of 
weak tea with milk and sugar. 
Our correspondent writes regarding the above ; — 
"Oh ye go is and little fishes! It actually makes 
me convulsed with happy thoughts of the near 
future. Take courage now, oh ye Knights of the 
Tea Bush ; don't ye mind the croaking brokers 
in Mincing Lane. Send your muck and flood the 
market! Horse troughs to your rescue 1 ! ! It won't 
be a bad idea to agitate for a horse census in the 
Uoited Kingdom ; we might start one in Ceylou too, 
not exoluciing jaw-bones ! Eh! Mr. Editor ?" 
TuBKisH LiQuoKiCE.— The British Consul at Bus- 
sorah, in an interesting report on the growth of 
the liquorice plant on the banks of the Tigris and 
Euphrates says that these great rivers in the part 
where the root is found flow through flat, treelesa 
prairies of uncultivated and nearly uninhabited land. 
Foe three months of the year hot winds blow, and 
the temperature reaches 104deg. For six months 
the climate is moderate and salubrious, and f( r three 
months bleik and wintry, the thermometer going 
down to 30deg. at night. Tho liquorioa plant ia 
a small shrub, with light foliage, growing to about 
three feet high, where its roots can reach the water 
It grows without any cultivation. No lands are 
leased for the purpose, and no objection ia made 
to its being collected. It is found in abundance 
from Ctesiphon, ten miles from Bagdad down to 
Kut-ul-Anara, half way between Bussorah and 
it'agdad. It grows on red-earth soil, and also on light 
almost sandy, soil, where the wood is beat, provided, 
it has plenty of water, and the ground is not more 
than 50 yards from the aotual river or stream. Only 
one firm works it in Bagdad, and it is well known 
that the business is a prosperous one. The wood, 
after being once dug up and cut grows again better 
afterwards. The time of collecting is, generally 
speaking, during the winter, but it is possible all 
the year round. The root when dug is full of water, 
and must be allov/ed to dry, a process which takes 
the best part of a year, especially in hot weather. 
It is then sawn or cut into small pieces six inches 
to a foot long. The good and sound pieces are 
kept, and ibe rotten ones are used for firewood. 
It is then shipped in native river boats to Bussorah 
whence it is shipped in pressed bales to London, and 
again from there to America, where it ia used largely 
in the manufacture of tobacco. The Coneul thinks 
the trade ia capable of expanaion. The demand 
in America is great, and shipments are easily 
disposed of. After sorting there still remains soma 
UBfless wood in the bales, perhaps 7 per oeit. 
i?rom figures supplied by the Bagdad firm enj-Sgei 
in the business, it seems that the total net coai of 
a ton of liquorice root laid 4own in Loudon 13 
about .v'l,— London TiiiKja, 
