Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1886-07-08
THE coCOANUT.
If. Importance as an Article Of Comuerce-In-
teresting Fignres.
View or cans Times Democrat,


being almost exclusively in the hands of
the Germans, who ship principally to
Europe. San Francisco oil-crushers are
,be chief manufacturers of cocoanut oil
i'm the United States, and handle nearly
All the copra sold in this country, which
they procure from Samoa, Tonga, or the
Fiji islands. The importation of copra
exceeds $4,000 annually. The United
States imported in the year 1885, ending
Tune 80. cocoanuts, coir fiber, coir yarn
and oil 70 the value of S1,7S0O00 (exclu-
.iye of copra). The importations of the
fiber and yarn for 1856 exceeded $4,000.
OO0 The consumption of the fiber in the
United States has increased rapidly in the
past six years, as shown by the importa-
ton of 1879 being only S1,6OO000.
The largest cOcOanut-hber mandatory
in the world is located in London, Eng
land. where great quantities of cocoanut
busk- are in stock. Often 100000 of
the husks are in store at one time, while
enormous quantities of the fiber are being
disposed of. Often 20 tons are shipped
In one consignment, going 60 all parts of
the world. About 100000 nuts are
landed in the United Kingdom yearly
Nearly all of these nuts are imported i'm
the hu~ks. After the nuts are removed
from the husks they are sorted as to size
and quality and are then sold TO fruit
dealers, cOnfectioners. etc. The husks
are passed through a powerful crusher
driven by steam power which hattens and
partially softens them. They are then
thrown into huge tanks, each holding
many thousands, where they undergo a
steamiug and soaking process for several
hours. After the husbs are sufficiently
soaked they are ready for the mills,which
consist of cylinders or drums each being
studded on its own periphery with 1000
or 5000 steel teeth. They are driven by
steam and run with rapidity. Each husk
Is divided longitudinally into thin slices,
and each piece is passed into the mill
separately by the workingman or feeder,
he retaining a firm grip of it so far as
not 10 allow it pass out of his hands.
After one-half o, the slice Of the husk is
thus cleaned the feeder reverses it.
passing IN the other half. Each slice of
the hu.k is passed throug three of these
mills in succession. This method of
cleaning the fiber, through apparently a
yerg dangerous one is gone through with
wonderful rapidity. recent invention
In machinery for extracting the fiber
from the husk on the plantation where
tine nut is grown, it is said, viii probably
reyoIuti0uze the system of producing coir
fiber from the cOcoanut husk. in the fact
that they are a small portable machine
enabling the most ordinary laborer to
prepare the fiber at a cost of 80 per cent
ls,, then the one now in use in England
In CeylOn, India and other countries
where the COR of fiber is prepared for
shipment by the natives, the husks are
placed in ponds, often in mud, whore they
remain 10 rot. Even six months soaking
is sometimes required TO loosen the fiber
sufficiently to enable natives to rub and
wash the fiber clean.
New Orleans imported for the year
ending Dec. 81, 1855. cocuauuts to the
value of s212S or over 5,4OS. 800 nuts.
These nuts are largely usedfor disiccating
purpose. One of the largest houses in
the United States engaged 1t that business
is located in st. Louis Mo, whore over
100000 nuts are annually consumed for
that purpose twenty-five per cent, of
the cocoanuts gathered for shipment TO
the United States are rejected, being
small, cracked, or otherwise defective, as
nuts for desiccating should be sound and
contain the milk, 1t being evidence of the
swee, condition of the nut Twenty-Five
Ift. cent Oh the GDtOhuulN EhlutIGu iOI
shipment to New Orleans and rejected
represent 1852, 125 nuts for 1855, which
would have produced over $4,000 pounds
Of copra and yielded 4o5,GOO pounds of
oil and 27O 400 of oil cake, equal to cotton
seed cake as food for stock Apparently
the rejected cocoanuts on the Caribbean
coast of Central America would sustain
profitable business in the manufacture of
D., oil
ground for producing the oil OF shipping
the copra to New Orleans where oil-mills
are ALREADY established, and where the
trade in cocoanuts, copra, oil and cake
could be made as famous as the traffic in
cottou-seed products is now. But Mere is
suII another and much greater waste ex-
Istug in the cocOanut trade of Central
and south America and the West Indies,
which should be used TO augment the com
merce of New Orleans, From figures
above given, we find that by including the
rejected nuts, 6.7GOO25 nuts must have
been grown last year on the cocoanut
plantations that supply the New Orleans
market. The husk of each nut contains
ONE third of a pound of the fiber called
eu.r and rs none of this fiber WAS saved.
y is clear that q waste of about 2,253.54l
pounds of coir fiber existed in connection
with th. cocoanut trade of New Orleans,
a.d If valued al the average of last years
Expectations. would amount TO more than
$4,000. The copra would perhaps
amount to $4,000, making an additional
value to the cocoanut importations of
Sew Orleans of $4,000 thus showing
that nearly so per cent. of the available
commercial product of the cocoanut palm
That contributes TO New Orleans importa-
HUus is not utilized. The improved plan
lal0n machines for extracting the fiber
t-om the husk7 viii certainly enable the
eoc1anut planters to save the coir fiber at
very mall cost and by extracting the
o-from the rejected nuts the profits of
.-t grower vail be largely increased and
ae cultivation of thecocoauut tree rapid
! extended.