414 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Dec. I, 1897. 
above to 150 deg.j wbich i£ kept up for 48 hours, 
will thoroughly dry the copra, and so clean and bright, 
that the oil made from it will be perfectly 
colourless. 
Once ou a time, the Engineer of one of the 
Colombo oil mills, showed me a phial of clean bright 
oil, which I duly admired, and asked by what process 
he had got it. He replied, that was his secret. Do 
you prepose to take out a patent ? I'll consider of it, 
he said. Well I think you had best not go to that 
expense, for I could show you tons, as pure as that, 
and any one is free to inspect the process; it merely 
amounts to this; — ‘ clean copra makes clean oil.’ 
Ceylon may not be able to compete with Cochin in 
quality; but it is in her power, to make the best of the 
material she has to deal with, and thereby gain 
both credit and profit. W.JB.L. 
We append some half-a-dozen additional an- 
swers to our circular-questions on this subject, 
BO closing the discussion for the present. We 
trust, some practical good will come out of it. 
■\Ve may say that the whole of the correspon- 
dence and remarks will Ije embodied in our forth- 
coming Coconut Planter’s Manual. There can 
he little doubt, we think, that as regards both 
copra and oil from our dryer districts — Jatl’na, 
Batticaloa, Kalpitiya and Chilaw— only, a.s Mr. 
S. C. Munvo hints, “.a bad name” — a confounding of 
the superior with the general character of “Ceylon” 
copra and oil — can account for the value being 
placed lower than for Cocliin. If that he the case, 
it rests with proprietors themselves we think to 
get matters put on a proper footing. Let them 
obtain standard samples of Cochin oil and copra 
from their Agents, and then challenge com- 
parison when ' they feel, in tlie dryer districts 
especially, that tliey have attained to the 
same standard. At the same time, experiments 
in the directions jiointed out by “J.D.V.” and 
other correspondents could not tail to yield in- 
teresting and perhaps, profitable, results. “ W’s” 
idea of using a “Clerihew” for drying copra 
in the wet se.ason is a very good one, and we 
hope to liear of success. 
Answers to Circular •. No, IX. 
an offer of white copra to COLOMBO. 
Nov. 7. 
1. Yes. The reasons given in your issue of the 
30th ultimo, are to the point. We of Pallai turn out 
much better copra than estates in the South, but 
nearly all our copra used to be shipped to Cochin ! 
At present there are no purchasers here for the 
Indian market. In consequence price of copra has 
fallen, and we have to sell to the oilmongers. 
2, i think it quite possible to make good clean copra 
rivalling that of Cochin, and indeed our copra is 
perfectly clean and white. I don’t think there is much 
room for improvement over the Cochin treatment either 
of soil or kernel, though we don’t use mats on which 
to spread the copra. ,1 . 1 t ' • -nr 
3 Matting would be excellent, but expensive. We 
heap the copra on the approach of rain and cover 
with hucMs made of palmyrah olas and jungle 
4 The only disadvantage is, this copra, if not 
sufficiently dry, is apt to get soiled and discoloured 
by heaping. Perhaps tarpaulin would be better to 
cover with, heaping the copra. 
Best results can only be obtained in the 
districts where the rainfall is lowest like Pallai ; 40 in. 
average per annum. In the South vihen the copra 
is filed it is sure to lie discoloured, and the oil ex- 
pressed’ from it to be anything but limpid. 
^6 I am not quite sure if a Ceylon man could 
profit much by going to Cochin ? I think it had 
better be left to individual effort. 
7. However I won’t speak dogmatically on the sub- 
ject. But I certainly should prefer the course sug- 
gested in (6) rather than get Cochin run over. 
8. I think it is quite clear from what I have already 
stated that Pallai copra is just as good as the Cochin 
copra. The oil here is perfectly clear. 
9. I was about to write to you when this paper 
came to hand, iu i-e the quality of the nuts. 
There cannot be any material difference between 
these and the nuts of the Western or Southern 
Provinces, or even those of the Cochin Coast — 
at least so far as they contribute towards the 
clearness of the oil. The socalled ” superiority” of 
the copra is simply the irhilenesn of tlie copra which 
is entirely due to careful preparation, and fine 
weather. We have from 8 to 10 months of dry 
weather, which people in the South don't have. 
Hence our copra is whiter and better in every 
respect. We spread out the nuts when sxilit open 
ou fine white hot sand, and the copra is thereby 
subjected to heat both ou top and laiderneath. Thus 
the kernel comes out quite crisp and dry and per- 
fectly white from the shell. It is only when we 
are disturbed by rain unexpectedly that the 
copra suffers and is apt to get discoloured and mouldy. 
It also gets soiled by being thrown about during 
heaping and then spreading out when the sun shines. 
The one problem that has been simmering in 
my head for the last 11 years since I settled here, 
is, hovbast to cover the copra heaping it on 
the approach of raiu. Tarpaulin might answer, but I 
have never tried it: and I am not sure if it is without 
dis idvantages. My second question is what do ve 
gain here in the North by our copra being whiter, 
seeing that we do not get a higher price for it than 
people in the South. Supposing we take more than 
ordinary care with our copra and make it extra 
white and clean, what are the chances of getting 
higher prices, and what should be done to secure 
that end ? There being no demand for copra in 
Cochin, local merchants do not buy copra now. Our 
price is regulated entirely by tlu prices ruling in the 
Colombo market ! It is as a rule 4/ less per candy 
at Jaffna than the Colombo price, with its inferior 
copra. If, indeed, the Colombo Oil Manufacturers 
offer us sufficient inducement, I, for my part, can 
gurantee to supply good, clean, white cox>ra, quite 
equal to the Cochin copra in all respects. 
One disadvantage of spreading out the broken nuts 
on mats instead of on hot sp.nd is that it does not 
get the benefit of the hot sand, and I venture to 
think that spreading on mats is not a very great ad- 
vantage anyway. I don’t think the cojira would be 
anycleaner by the precaution. 
I dare say that in Kalpitiya and Puttalam they shonld 
be able to turn out just as good copra as here. Good 
well-matured nuts, (especially dropped nuts) sun-dried, 
without being exposed to rain, will make excellent 
copra. I dont think you have the cliniatio condi- 
tions necessary for the preparation of copra of 
superior quality, either iu the Western or in the 
Southern Province. 
John E, PHiLii-s. 
No. X. 
In answer to your circular on the above subject, 
the disparity between the prices for Ceylon and 
Cochin oil attracted my attention long ago, and I 
discussed the subj^ot in the pages of a contem- 
porary about a dozen years ago. It was then said 
that the reason was iu the Cochin oil being richer 
in stearine than Ce.ion oil. Coconuts iu Cochin 
were said to be stored on covered messas or plat- 
forms, under which small fires w’ere lighted, till the 
nuts were quite dry and had absorbed all the water 
or milk in them. They’ v.’ere then converted into 
copra. Of coarse this method of dealing with coco- 
nuts can be practised only by' small peasant pro- 
prietors and is not possible on large estates which 
have to deal with hundreds of thousands of nuts 
at each picking, and when two crops are on the 
ground at the same time. 
