Sept, i, 1 897. 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
173 
“ ASH OF COCONUT HUSK.” 
THE VALUE OF SALT IN COCONUT PALM 
CULTIVATION, 
Tlie following communication from our City 
Analytical Chemist, Mr. Cochran, altliough it 
may look, to the general reader, very dry and 
teeh.iical, is of special value to all cultivators 
of the coconut palm and in some degree to agri- 
culturists generally. In the first place we are 
particularly pleased to have this important 
testimony- (added to that of Messrs. Davidson 
and Lepine whose hgures in our “ Manual,” how- 
ever, referre 1 to Jaffna peninsula) — to the value of 
common salt in palm cultivation. Only a few days 
ago, we were astounded to have a planter of ex- 
perience declare to us that, in his opinion, salt 
was of no value to cultivators in Ceylon ! He 
no doubt chiefly referred to cultivation other- 
wise tlian of coconuts, though he made no ex- 
ceptions. We should like Mr. Cochran’s opinion 
as to the value of “ sodium chloride” as a 
manurial agent, in respect of a variety of indus- 
tries in the island, in order to justify the call 
— in next Session of our Legislature, we hope, — 
for leave to use untaxed salt (made useless for 
human food) for agricultural purposes. What 
Mr. Cochran says of the value of burning coconut 
husks and returning the ashes to the soil, ought 
to be made known and acted on far and wide, 
among the natives especially. At present these 
husks, in some cases, are being sold for less than 
their value as manure. It will be observed that 
Mr. Cochran evidently inclines to the view — 
though he has not yet demonstrated it by analy- 
sis — that the farther coconut palms are situated 
from the sea, the more likely they are to benefit 
by the direct application of “sodium chloride,” 
or common salt. Here is Mr. Cochran’s Report 
(which is just in time to be included in the new 
edition of our “Coconut Planters’ Manual” now 
passing through the Press) : — 
1 had recently occasion to ascertain the amount 
of potash in coconut husk ; and, not being able to 
meet with this information in any of my books, I 
determined the same in the ash of a ripe coconut 
grown in the neighbourhood of the sea. I further 
extended the examination to the other ingredients 
of the ash of the coconut husk, knowing that such 
an analysis was much wanted. 
The nut was one of fair, if not large size ; weigh- 
ing with its husk and calyx 3'4821b. The nut alone 
weighed 1'693 lb., so that the husk and calyx weighed 
1-789 lb. 
One-third of the husk, out longitudinally with a 
third of the calyx, as the .smallest portion that one 
could be certain of as representing the whole husk, 
was incinerated at the lowest temperature practicable. 
The temperature was kept low to avoid loss of the 
chlorides of the alkalis by volatilisation. For the 
same reason, I did not attempt to procure a white 
ash, but stopped the incineratiou while there was still 
an appreciable amount of unburned carbon present. 
The crude ash, which amounted to 1-9381 per cent, 
of the husk, was analysed, and from the results obtained 
2 
the composition of the pure ash was calculated. The 
following w'ere the results of the analysis 
Carbon 
Crude Ash. Pure Ash. 
per CL-ut. per cent. 
4-57 — 
Insoluble silica .. 
300 
3-14 
Soluble silica 
3-80 
3-98 
Lime 
3-38 
3-54 
Magnesia 
3-60 
3-77 
*Potash 
29-06 
30-45 
*Potassium chloride . . 
3-44 
3-60 
Sodium chloride 
38-17 
40-01 
Phosphoric acid 
1-18 
1-24 
Sulphuric acid 
1-35 
1-41 
Carbonic acid, &c. . . 
8-45 
8-86 
* Equal to total potash . 
100-00 
. 31-23 
100-00 
32-72 
The crude ash from one husk 
amounts to -():;i67o lb. 
or 31-673 lb. per 1,000 Im.sks. 
One thousand husk.s carried 
oil the 
estate thus re- 
moves from the soil 
Potash 
10-828 lb. 
Lime 
1-172 ,. 
Magnesia 
1-248 „ 
Phosphoric acid . . 
-409 „ 
Sodium chloride (Common 
Salt) .. 
13-235 „ 
Messrs. From 
Seaside 
Ison & Lepine. 
Nuts. 
lb. 
lb. 
252- 00 .. 
64-968 
55- 00 .. 
7-032 
— 
7-488 
2-27 
2-454 
, 28-117 .. 
79-410 
It is only necessary to multiply these figures by 
the number of thousand nuts grown upon an acre 
of land to ascertain the amount of these mineral 
constituents removed per acre. Thus, if they are 
multiplied by 6, the results may be compared with 
those obtained by Messrs. Davidson and Lepine, 
approximately, the terms used by them, viz. ; “ Salts of 
potash ” “ salts of lime,” not being quite definite. For 
comparision, 1 have changed pounds troy of Mr. 
Davidson’s into pounds avoirdupois. 
MOBE mPOETANT MINEKAL CONSTITUEK L'S, IN 6,000 
HUSKS. 
Potash 
Lime . . 
Magnesia 
Phosphoric acid, . 
Sodium chloride (Common 
Salt).. 
It will be observed that there is no approach to 
agreement in the two sets of results except in the 
case of the phosjrlroric acid. Mr. Davidson finds 
that the coconut husk removes much more potash 
from the soil, than the entire amount of crude ash 
according to my calculation from seaside nuts. 
I am not at all disposed to attribute all the difference 
in the foregoing sets of results to the cruder methods 
of analysis prevailing when Mr. Lepine made his deter- 
mications. I have no doubt differences of soil may 
account for part of it. lean well believe, from theoreti- 
cal considerations, e.f/., that coconuts grown on a rich 
alluvial soil would have husks, the ash of v/hich would 
differ in composition from those grown on sandy 
soil in the neighbourhood of the sea, in the direc- 
tion of containing higher proportions of potash and 
lime and a lower proportion of common salt. 
It must be a satisfaction, however, to coconut 
planters to know that the coconut husk is not 
necessarily nearly so exhausting to the soil in 
the matter of potash as would be naturally inferred 
from the earlier analyses or estimates. At the 
same time, the ash of the husk is far richer in potash 
than any wood ashes I have analysed, and if the unit, 
i.e., the huudredlh-part of a ton of potash be 
valued at K2-.50, -a ton of the crude ash is worth 
for its potash alone P7S, and, with the phos- 
phoric acid, fully 1180. It would, take 61.601 
husks, similar to the one dealt with, to furnish a 
ton of crude ash. One thousaud husks, therefore, 
are worth for their potash and phosphoric acid alone 
about Ri'24; or, to put it with greater accuracy, the 
ash of 1,000 husks is worth for its potash and phos- 
phoric acid 111-21. This is without assigning a value 
