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necessary. Several makers of machines are known, 
but perhaps the one with the greatest reputation 
is the Bley Kapok Cleaning Machine. It requires 
1 horse power for its operation and is claimed to 
clean 217 kilos per hour. From the above it may 
be seen that the cleaning of kapok by machinery 
requires but a small outlay of capital. 
Kapok is exported in bales, and for this purpose a 
baling machine is essential. Balers cost from £24 
to £100 and more. 
Baling, of course, is essential to economise in 
shipping freights. The size of bale prepared varies 
according to the market to which the kapok is to 
be exported. For European shipments the bale is 
1.60 piculs or 217.6 lbs.; for Australian shipment 
1.20 piculs per double bale and 0.80 picul per single 
bale. Baling is best pressed into sacking or matting 
and bound with fibre. 
There is a world-wide demand for kapok. The 
principal countries of import are Holland, America, 
Australia and New Zealand, and England. The 
Department of Agriculture are in a position to place 
sellers of kapok in touch with some fifty buyers in 
all parts of the world. 
Kapok is one of the few crops which does not appear 
to have been affected by the slump; the price for 
many years has been steady, and with constantly 
increasing demand as its floss becomes better known 
and more appreciated as a filler, together with the 
possibility of new uses, it appears probable that 
the market will remain firm for a; considerable time. 
The outlay in establishing the crop and upkeep 
charges are small, and the machinery required 
for preparing the floss for market is inexpensive. 
