The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1890-05-25
IN THE CoCoANtE TRADE
How the Cargoes from Tahiti are'Handloa
and Disposed or
From the San PrdnctSco bulletin.

From the san FrdncSco Bulletin.
The barkentine City of Papeete is now
about due here from Tahiti. She is one Of tho
regular line OF packets that trade directly be-
tween this port and the Society 1slands, In the
South Pacific. carrying passengers. freight. ana
line leaves here for Tahiti. under contract to
carry the mails, on the first day ofSach month";
From here the Jackets take full ear sSsssS Of
res. for sale or barter among the ialands OF tno
Tahiti Archipelago. On the return yoyage
pearl. oranges. vanilla, a little cotton. edible
fungus, aud coooanuts and copra. the latter
forming always the chief part Of the cargo:
posed i9r sale at all the fruit and veGotatbSl be
sa aio% the u sy a0d %
have any idea of the large number that aEe I'M nnH
gate importation for the past twelve months
They re hsRded 6y to 3b
port. and who supply the market as far east AZ
the Mississippi
When the arriving vessel is discharged the
nuts are pi led up on the dock and numper are
d to To take * then s
houses, whore they arc prepared for the mar.
ket The first htRg Il me- 70 t e So on
by a man called the "6us ker."" The, husker
sands W At his YORK Before him he
s fees GnG s'0f '4S Nat sSs
fRe nS G1k and f SO hnsE
The work is quite laborious, as the hbroY9
tough and s1FnS 0gs
nut: but an experienced husker can strip tho
rind on OF about l,2UO in one day. husker IL
After being ,husked the good green nuts,
ha S th9Se INT aaSe not b sfe 500 90
about ten cents apiece.
The sprouted ones are next taken into an
Ss a Ro yh acre hsy 5
ESSSd atasS 5s FPs sbss ;S
1880 to 1000 nuts at time, They, are kept
The opener" takes the nut In his left hand
his opening knife an instrument something
cracks tho she'll which he then proceeds to re-
move, taking great care not to inlure the nut.
A good opener can open 100 an hour.
The kernel or nut is then taken to the peel
or" who. with IL spoke-s shave. peels on the
brown skin. eaying the white meat. peeler
can peel from sixty to seyenty-fye in an hour.
whero they are thoroughly washed In hot
water. They arc then cut In quarters and
chinery y These mills T are three in mum bor and
different forms. The three kinds principally
another coarser for bakers use. and strips
which arc used by candy makers.
After leaving the mills II certain amount OF
Rranulated sugar Is mixed with the ground
nuts in strips. which are then laid in large.
shallow pans and placed in the driers. series
OF largo wooden boxes heated by steam pipes.
Here they remain for twelve or fourteen hours,
being carefully watched meanwhile. and when
thoroughly dried are placed in barrels boxes,
or tins. and are then ready for the market
Tho external husk. from which Is obtained
the coarse fibre which is largely used In some
parts of the world in the manufacture OF ropes,
cordaGe. brushes. door mats. &C.. is only used
here as fuel for the furnace Several attempts
have been made to utilize 1t In this State for
various purposes. but without success
The importers state that they have to leave
the husk on the nuts on the voyage, or the nuts
would otherwise spoil.
Coprn is the. kernel Of the cocoanut. which is
broken into pieces and then allowed to dry In
tho sun it is estimated that 900 full-sized
nuts will Yield upward OF 500 pounds OF copra,
from which twenty-five gallons OF oil can be
obtained, The Of is q white substance, with
n rather disagreeable odor, and is used chiefly
in tho manufacture OF candles and soap.
There are two companies, both located In
this city that express the oil from the copra.
They work up about LOCO tons Of copra annu-
ally, while the annual Importation Is about
loo tons. Tho surplus ia shipped TO Europe.
After tho oil has been pressed from the nut
the rcsidue Is sold for cattle and chicken food.