Dec. I, 1897. J 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTDRIST. 
381 
formed accordingly Mosses. Boyle and Company re 
solved to send a representative to India with machinery 
to decorticate the fibre if possible on the spot, ana 
their renresentative is now 011 his way to 
via Singapore. He will probably be here in the cold 
weather. The step Messrs. Boyle and Company are 
about to take is a bold one, and it clearly allows 
that they consider the fibre to be extremely valuable. 
The next question is, is there a sufficient quantiy 
of the fibre available in India at present from stems to 
enable an export trade on a large scale to be carried 
out, should the experiment turn out a success I loaio- 
tropis procera grows wild all over Sind, and it is also to 
be found, it is believed, in the Punjab in this state. 
Calotropis gigantea, the larger plant and one whicn 
yields the larger quantity of fibre in proportion to 
the cut stems, is common according to Brandis m 
South and Central India, Burma and Bengal, Corakpur, 
Oudh, and in great profusion in an isolated locality 
in the Siwalik tract near Kali Dungri belowNaini ial. 
The fibres from both the C. procera and Q. t'lpntea 
are equally good. As at present arranged Messrs. 
Boyle and Company's representative is to proceea 
to Sind to undertake experiments with C. procera 
there, and the Government of Bombay hiwe very 
kindly issued instructions that all the local Revenue 
and Forest officers in Sind are to render Messrs. 
Boyle and Company’s representative any aid that 
may be needed for the purpose of conducting ex- 
periments with the plant there. It may be, how- 
eveirthat there is a better field for such experi- 
Ss in other parts of India. If so will Forest 
officers in India and Burma or any others, through 
the pages of this Magazine, kindly let it be known, 
and will they also state (I) whether C. procera or 
C. gigantea grows in their Districts, (2) if so t 
extent and (3) whether there is waste land available 
for the cultivation of the plants ? 
Such information, if it be not too much trouble 
to obtain, will be extremely usefu and valuable at 
the present time, and I shall be greatly obliged if some, 
at any rate, will condescend to come forward ^th it 
As C. gigantea yields a larger proportion of fibre 
to the cut stems than C. procera and as there may 
be an equally large quantity of the plant available 
AS in Sind for immediate experiment, in some other 
district of India or Burma, it might be advisable 
after the completion of Messrs. Boyle and Company s 
experiments in Sind for their representative to go 
An interesting monograph on Calotropis gigantea 
was written some yearl ago (1878) by Mr. Strettell 
Deputy Conservator of Forests and he describei it 
as being indigenous in Sind. He was in error here, 
for the^plant which is to be found in that Province 
is Calotropis procera. Mr. Strettell in this paper 
shows hoXuch more valuable the fibre of C. gigantea 
is than jute and how much easier the plant is of 
production. As regards its facility for producing and 
Jeproducing itself there can be but one opinion 1 
have seen it (C. procera) growing on the summit of 
rolling plains of sand away from the Indus and on 
fallow kharif land near this river. It coppices freely 
and in about 12 months the cut stems are again 
ready for the extraction of fibre. 
My experiments in Sind were coiffiucted, it ought 
to be mentioned, with the aid of Banger Dulpatrai 
who obtained the cut stems for me and the fibre 
was stripped from them in my presence. 
In 1891 Messrs. Ide and Christie, Brokers, of^ 7 
Mark Lane, London, valued the fibre @ £15 to £28 
per ton. In Mr. Strettell’s time tbe market value of 
the fibre was £30 to £40 per ton. 
I imagine its present narket value must be rather 
in acfoidance with Mr. Stretteil’s figure or perliaps 
higher judgii.g by the action of Messrs. Boyle and 
Company who are sending out a representative at 
their own cost and armed with machinery for con- 
duciing experiments on the spot. They were not 
invited to come out here, but merely asked to report 
on the quality of the fibre and its market value. 
Their enterprise is certainly very commendable. 
15th September, 1897. H. M. B. 
^Indian Forester. 
COCONUT CULTIVATION AND MANU- 
FACTURE OF THE OIL IN SOUTHERN 
INDIA AND CEYLON : 
WHY SHOULD COCHIN Oil. SELL 36 PEi^ 
CENT BETTER THAN CEYLON ? 
HOW TO IMPROVE THE CEYLON 
COPRA. 
A most practical question, and one that has 
been far too long neglected, is raised in the 
enquiry with which we head our remark-s, 
Can there be any permanent unchangeable 
reason why “Cochin” coconut oil aliould fetch, 
on an average, 36 per cent, more value in the 
Loudon market than the coconut oil froin 
Ceylon ? Cochin is tliree degrees farther froni 
the equator than Colombo ; but in mo.st respects 
must have a climate and soil very similar to that 
of our West Coast, save that its dry season is 
said to be longer. Applying to a Colombo friend 
with prolonged experience for an explanation, we 
have been favoured with the following interest, 
ing remarks : — 
“ The superiority of Cocliin coconut oil over 
Ceylo 1 oil is due to the superior whitene.ss and 
quality generally of the Cochin copra as com. 
pared with Ceylon copra. Although the S.-W, 
monsoon rains from end May to August are 
very heavy in the Cochin State, there is a larger 
number ot dry months than in Ceylon and if is 
in these dry months, that the coconut kernels 
are dried in the sun only, which gives a whiter 
and better copra than the average of Ceylon, 
and as Cochin oil i.s made from this whiter 
copra, this accounts for its superiority. If 
is not supposed that the Cochin coconuts are 
practically better than Ceylon nuts, but that the 
superiority of the Cochin oil may be attributed 
solely to the better climate, and to the supe* 
riority ot the preparation of the copra fiom 
which the oil is made. Cochin oil is believed to 
contain a larger proportion of stearioe than 
Ceylon oil, and hence its special suitableness for 
the manufacture of fine candles such as those 
made by Price’s Patent Candle Company, which 
are so well and favourably known to the public,’ 
We give next an interesting- communication, 
— wliich, in reality, prompted our enquiry — that 
reacheil us by a recent mail fi om a very old 
Colombo merchant long retired from the island : 
we have filled in the figures of rainfall and 
temperature for our West Coast as desired by 
him. He writes as follows 
“ Has the question ever been raised and dis- 
cussed wdierefoie there should exist such a ma- 
terial difference in the value in Europe between 
Ceylon cocji.utoil and the oil shipped from the 
Western Coasi of India ?* It is quite worth dis 
cussion. Though a difference in climate may 
account for part of the difference in value, there 
are methods in the cultivation of the nut and 
the preparation of copra which, if attended to 
in Ceylon, should increase the production of nuts 
and improve their qu.ality and, therefore, the value 
of the oil. The climate of the West Coast of India 
differs greatly from tliat of Ceylon. Tlie .south- 
west monsoon beginning about the middle of May 
is generally one continuous downpour imtil about 
the first week in August ; during which period 
mostly 106 indies of rain are nieasured, some 20 
more inches falling during other parts of the 
year. In Ceylon the average fall in the low- 
Prices in London (6th October) Ceylon oil £22 ; 
Cochin oil £29 10s at £30. 
