440 
Siqyplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist. 
[Dec. 1, 1807, 
following passage occurs: — “In conclusion we 
would ask for samples of the silk cotton or 
floss from the seed-pod of the Calotropis gtgantea, 
or Mudar for which a demand appears to be 
springing up again, jtresent value about 6d. per 
lb. landed in London.” Among the other products 
of Caiotvojns r/igantea may be mentioned a dye, 
gutta-percha, liquor and “manna,” and wood 
for charcoal, while the medicinal properties of 
the lant are well known aud widely reputed. 
T)E. WATT ON COCONUT OIL. 
While a brief abstract has been given of coco- 
nut oil, it is nece.'Sary to deal with this subject in 
greater detail. Enquiries are frequently addressed 
to the Government of India I)y merchants interest- 
ed in the trade in this substance, so that it has 
become necessary to put on record as complete 
an account as can be collected from the scattered 
publications that exi.st, even should that prove 
but a statement of the littleness of our knowledge. 
Otie of the earliest, and to this day the most 
satisfactory descriptions of the Indian coconut 
oil industry is that written by Lieutenant H. 
P. Hawkes, and published in 1857. Gazetteer 
writers have contented themselves with treating 
the subject as too well known to call fm- any 
detailed description, and utmost only the meagrest 
accounts have been given to the merchant 
desirous of starting a new or e.xtending an 
existing trade, the question of primary importance 
to which he calls for a reply being the province or 
district with which he should open up dealings. 
The chief products of the coconut are coir flbre, 
oil, and toddy, or the juice from which sugar 
and spirits may be prepared. We know that in 
Bombay the juice is largely extracted from the 
tree, that in Mysore the flbre is the chief pre- 
paration, and that in Madras and Travancore 
enormous quantities of both flbre and oil are 
exported ; while Bengal, on the other hand, 
imports immense numbers of coconuts and a large 
quantity of copra, but exports very little of the 
products of the palm. It can nowhere, however, 
be discovered wliether any two of these primary 
products, or all of them, can be derived from 
the same trees or even prepared by the same 
cultivators— certain plants or portions of the 
plantation being periodically set apart for these 
several industries. Under coir fibre it has been 
said that green or unripe coconut is alone used 
for that pm pose, while most writers seem to 
agree that the ripe kernel is necerssnry for the 
oil. It wnuld be most instructive to know if 
cultivation had resulted in the production of 
certain races of coconuts famous for their oil- 
yielding properties, just as the inhabitants of 
the Laccadive Islands appear to have developed 
a small fruited one with a specially good fibre. 
In connection with commercial reports on coconut 
oil it is generally stated that the finest qualities 
are obtained from “ Cochin.” (Spoil places Cochin 
after Ceylon.) It wdll be recollected that this 
same statement occurs regarding the fibre derived 
(or siqqioscd to be derived) from that Native 
State. The writer has failed to discover any 
account of the Cochin oil industry, and is almost 
forced to the opinion that by “Cochin coconut 
oil” as with “ Cochin coir” may be meant the 
superior qualities of ‘he oil derived from the 
Madras Presidency. If ripe coconuts are essentially 
necessary for the preparation of the oil, then 
the Maidive and Nicobar Islands might be looked 
to a.s the great seats of the oil indn.stry. But 
while these i.slands export perhaps little short 
of from 1.5 to 20 million ripe coconuts a year, 
they do not appear to manufacture coconut oil, 
and the ripe husks are of no use for fibre. So, 
in a like manner, the Laccadives . would not be 
looked to ns a source of oil ; these islands are 
famous for their coir, the inhabitants growing 
a peculiar coconut that would seem to be inferior 
to the Malabar either as an oil-yielding or an 
edible nut. The imports from the Maldives and 
Nicobar Islands into Madras are very unimpor- 
tant as compared with those recorded against 
Bengal, yet Madras, and not Bengal, ajipears to 
control the coconut oil market. This fact would 
lead to the inference that the locally-grown nuts 
of Madras were largely employed for the ex- 
piression of oil — the very considerable imports 
from the Laccadives affecting mainly the coir 
industry. But if this inference be correct there 
remains the difficult position that the ripe nuts, 
serviceable for oil-making, yield no flbre. The 
presumption would therefore appear to be that 
a very much larger amount of the Madras 
coir comes from the Laccadives than we have 
any definite knowledge of at present, or that 
a large preparation of the coast coconuts or those 
of certain localities only are always or periodically 
set apart for oil-yielding. It may, of course, 
be the case that the trees are, so to speak, 
pruned by the removal for coir of so many 
green nuts from each tree, the remainder being 
allow'ed to ripen for oil purposes or as articles 
of diet. 
This brief review, from want of definite infor- 
naation, may be accepted as indicating the direction 
that future reports might assume ; but it may 
safely be concluded that, as with coir, so with 
coconut oil, Madras is the chief seat of the trade. 
Certain writers familiar only with Bengal (with 
the waving feathery clumps of coconuts dispersed 
through its suburban jungles or surrounding its 
mango topes) have advocated the claims of the 
Lower Provinces as a future region of oil-produc- 
tion. This would appear to be a pure hallucination 
which the enormous imports of ripe nuts should 
have prevented. It is extremely doubtful if 
Bengal is ever likely to do more than meet 
the local and internal demand for ripe nuts and 
oil. The European oil merchant, if he finds the 
suggestion impracticable which has been offered 
in an early paragraph, viz., to call in the aid 
of the Maidive and Nicobar Islands, — will do 
well to concentrate his attention on the Madras 
Presidency. 
« 
BANDAKAI FIBRE. 
Enquiry has been made through the Ceylon Inde- 
pendent as to the possibility of extracting flbre 
from the plant locally known as “ Bandakai ” 
(its botanical name being Hibiscus esculentiis), 
