412 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Drc. I, 1897. 
9 . My expei'ience is that nuts of estates on the sea- 
board make the best copra. I think tliis superiority 
is due to the presence of salt in the soil. If some 
means could be devised for obtaining salt at cheaper 
rates for manuring purposes and better methods of 
manuring are adopted. I think our nuts will not be 
much inferior to tnose in Cochin, and if some method 
can be devised of drying copra by means of a uniform 
heat without smoke, I think we will be able to 
manufacture a very superior oil in Ceylon. D. J. 
We direct attention to two thoroughly prac- 
tical coimmujications di.scussing this matter 
below. One is from the Manager of a 
large plantation in the Kajakudalnwa di.s- 
trict beyond Chilaw, which ought to he specially 
favourable for sun-drying; and the other hears 
the initials of an old conlrihntor who will be 
recognised as almost “ the Patriarch ” among 
coconut planters, at any rate in the We.stern 
Province of Ceylon. The former snp|ilies a great 
deal of out-of t lie- way infoi Illation as to the care- 
less, if not fraudulent way in which copra is 
treated by native owners and middlemen before 
reaching the mills ; and both writeis seem to 
make it e\ident that the IMill Managers are 
prettj' well helpless in reference to refoim — since 
they must take the copra as oH'ered, and it would 
net be profitable for them to deal separately 
with small quantities of cleanly superior or 
sun-dried co]u a. 
But “MCB. Ij.” shows us very jilainly liow' 
private estate owners in Ceylon, anxious to 
do as much ju.stice to their nut-kernels as is 
done in Cochin, can accomplish their purpose. 
We infer from wdiat he says that a “ Sirocco” (or 
query “ Dessiccator”) — or even a more iirimitive 
contrivance descrilied by our cf 1 respondent— 
■would enable copra to he iiroperly dried even 
in our wetter districts; while in the di-ier 
series — which must have as many sunny days 
as Cochin— the result can he arrived at with 
a little care more .‘imply and economicallj'. 
“W.B. L.” tells us of a [iroprietor of 200 acres 
of coco-palms wlio regularly prepared his own 
copra and manufactured superior oil from it 
on the estate, we suppose at a CMisiderahle 
profit over his neighbours’ returns? M'itli this 
example before them, we do not see why a 
good many individual planters should not go 
and do likewise and secure in the London market 
not £'2l to £22 but £29 to £30 for their oil. 
“W.B.L.” says it should ]iay to erect a Mill 
(with hydiaulie presses) for 50 acres ; but to 
make the venture safer, a (Syndicate of pro- 
prietors owning not les.s than 1,000 acres — or 
why not a Limited Company buying up estates 
to that extent ?— should be tried to establish a 
Mill to manufacture only superior Cey'on oil. 
No doubt, a distinctive mark would have to 
be adopted to secure due atteiition'in the 1 ondon 
market. With a margin of from 30 to 36 per 
cent, to go on, it does not seem to us that 
encouragement is vvanting to deal with an enter- 
prise of this kind. 
(No. A’ 1 1, — Answer to Circular hj a 
Itajaladahnca Manager. ) 
I have read the leader in the Ohserrerot 30th ultimo 
with grea,t interest. The superiority of the Cochin coco- 
nut oil, as evidenced by the high price it obtains in the 
London m-aiket, is a matter well worthy of our con- 
sideration and the remarks made in tire leader are 
quite to the point. The opinions expressed oir the 
Bubject by the authorities quoted are perfectly correct 
that little remains to be added. Considering what 
large tracts of land in Ceylon are rruder coconut culti- 
vation and what vast quantities of copra are prepared, 
it behoves us to pu' our best foot forward and see if 
we cannot successfully compete with our rival, but 
what is the use of the etrerg) and care of a few when 
the vast majority of the natives iir this island engaged 
irrthe cccomit industry are notorious for their apathy. 
To irrake good copra, as made in Cccbiii, three 1 birgs 
are of paranrourrt inrpotlance ; — f.'V, Ih (.hoice of' nuts', 
2nd, modeoj mani pula lion ; 3rd, time 0 / dryiini. 
1. With regard to the choice ofuuis — these should 
be thoroughly well matured and dry on the tree before 
plucking and of a dark-brown colour. Nuts that are 
so dry ihiit they sever their connection with the parent 
tree by their owrr weight and fall of themselves ai'e the 
best adapted for making copra. The Cochin nuts are 
so gathered and I suspect this accounts for the larger 
percentage of stearine in the Cochiir oil. By this 
method two bunches of thoroughly matured irms nray 
he relied upon froirr a well-hearii.g tree and the third 
or less rrratuied hunch nray he left to fornr the first 
hunch of the irext crop and so on. These nuts should 
be plucked once itr three moirihs instead of two irroiitlrs 
so as to ensure two perfectly dried huirclres. The nuts 
when plucked should not be left in a heap longer than 
three weeks or a nrouth by which time the kernel is 
so far desiccated that it comes away fre m the shell 
after a slight exposure to the suir and veiy often the 
mornenttlie nut is split. Germninted nuts shoirid he 
avoided if a trr.st-class copra is to be turned out The 
general rule iir Ceylon is to pluck once erery two 
months. I think this accounts for the inferiority of 
our copra, for inrnrature nuts are houird to he mixed 
with the mature oires even on the best regulated 
plantations. 
2. As regards the manipulation, nuts should be 
placed in a tierce sun as soon as they are split, care 
being taken that no sand or earthy matter adheres to 
the inner surface. M^here practicable they should be 
placed on mats or cadjaus till the surface moisture 
sufficiently evaporates, leaving a dry inner suiface to 
which foreign substances cannot cling. This can be 
ascertained by passing one’s fingers over the inner 
surface a few' hours after the nuts are exposed. When 
this amount of dryage is ascertained and the kernels 
are detached from the shells, mats i-.nd cadjans are no 
longer needed, as the kernels may then be placed on 
the bare sand (the looser and whiter the sand the 
better) till thoroughly dried, w’ithout any fear of taint. 
Where large quantities of copra are prepared at a time 
it is not awvays feasilile to effect the preliminary dry- 
ing on mats and cadj ins, but it is trouble well laid 
out when the ulterior benefit is taken into account. 
In Ceylon the natives are very careless as to what 
becomes of the nuts in the splitting. They are split 
and chucked about anjhow, rolling over muddy 
ground or dirty sandy soil clogged and damp with 
coconut water or over patches of cattle dung 
or any dirt that is lying unswept. The nuts are 
then spread out to dry with a large percentage of earth 
sticking to them thus rudely spoiling their snow white 
appearance. The earthy matter leaves its stain and 
quantities of sand are embedded in the body of the 
kernel. This is regarded by the natives as the proper 
thing to happen as it increases the weight of the 
copra. I have seen sand actually thrown on the 
newly split nuts for this very purpose. How is it 
possible to obtain a good merchantable copra when 
men are capable of such nefarious practices ? In 
some instances the coconut water is not all out of the 
split kernels when exposed to the sun, a small portion 
at the bottom is allowed to remain and evaporate 
slowly (as it is too much trouble to throw it out) and 
in this slow process of evaporation a sticky gummy 
substance is formed w'hich clings to the boitom of 
the kernel and) readily holds any rubbish that may 
eventually come into contact with it. 
The kernels should be placed closely side by side 
to dry, but no nuts should be split after 11 a. m. as 
those split in the morning get the benefit of a full 
day's sun, whereas those split in the afternoon may, or 
may not, get a dry inner surface by the evening. 
This is an important factor in the drying process, 
{Qf damp on the inner surface all night long is 
