The Press., 1894-01-04
THE MANUFACTURE OF DES-
 LOCATED COCoANUT.

ICCATED COCOANUT.
 The cocoanuts which are used in this country for the manufacture of confec- tionery, oil, etc., come principally from the West Indies. They thrive best on or near the coast. The coooanut palm is a beautiful and lofty tree, growing some- times to a height of 60 to 100 feet, with cylindrical stem, which attains 8 thick ness af about two feet The tree termi- mates in a crown of graceful, waving pin nate leaves. The leaf, which is about 20 feet in length. consists of strong mid- rib, from which number of long acute leaflets spring, giving the appearance of a gigantic feather. The fruits mature in punches of from 10 to 90. The fruits, when mature, are oblong and triangular in cfess section, measuring from 12 to IS inclsses iq length and to 8 inches in diam eter. The fruIE consists of thick exter- nal halsk or skin of fibfons str,n tur A, within which is the ordinary coeoanut of commerce. The nut has very hard wooden shell inclosing the kernel, within which is a milky fluid called cocoanut milk The natives in Ceylon raise these palms in vast numbers, the ground being peculiarly suited for that purpose. It is estimated that as many as 10000, 900 of these trees flourish there. In planting the ripe nuts are placed in squares con- taining about 400 each. About an inch of sand or seaweed is coveren over them and iwatered daily till they germinate. The nuts put down in April are sufficient. grown to be planted before the rains of September begin.. They are then set out in holes 3 feet in depth and 20 to 30 feet apart. The roots of the young plants are first covered up with soft mud or seaweed and for two years watered and protected from the glare of the sun. The palm be- gins to bear fruit from the fifth to the seventh year of it's age, each stock car rying from to 30 nuts, the tree bearing on an average 60 nuts yearly. The husk yields the coir fibre, which is used in the mal ufacture of rope, cordage, brushes, etc. The nuts are husked by the natives. They are first placed on blocks of wood and an instrument similar to a pair of shears is jabbed into the husk, the ham, dies or arms are then opened, which tears tho. .husk apart so that the nut can be ta- kell out
 9I;fle coeoanuts come to this country packed in, burlap bags, containing about 100 nuts, weighing about 160 lbs, andare solg from the dock or vessel at $50 to $60 peri housand.
 The first operation in the manufacture of dssiecated cocoanut is smelling. This is dbne by standing the nut on one end strih hing the other end with a hammer, whk .h epacks the shell and kernel at the sa1L c time and lets out the milk. The attendant then takes an oyster knife and separates the outer shell from the kernel, which is then passed along to the peelers. An expert can shell as many as 5000 per day. The peeling operation is done most ly by girls. The kernel is held in an upright position on the knee of the operator; starting at the top with knife or spokeshave, it is drawn downward, taking of the dark skin from top to bot tom in one stroke. This oberation is re- peated, the kernel being turned with the hand at every stroke uutil every particle of skin has disappeared. A first-class hand can peel as many as 1,9OO per day. The kernels ale then cut into halves and put through the grating machine. The kernels are first placed into @ movable when in motion, moves back and forth, drawing the material across a number of circular revolving knives, similar to those of a saw, which cut or grate the kernels into fine particles. The knives are about 9 inches in diameter, ! inch thick, with twenty-two teeth about Z inch in length. The knives are set about inch part. The graters, when working steady, can grate as many as 1000 cocoanuts per day, Af- ter grating the material is taken to the drying room, where it is placed in heated iron pans. The tables con- taining the pans are about twenty feet in length and feet in width. '
 Each table contains two pans 3 feet in width and about 5 inches in depth. h. closed underneath these pans are nine double rows of steam pipes, which run back and forth the length of table. About seventy pounds of the grated material is placed in each pan, and from eight to thirty pounds of granulated sugar is ad- ded. The steam is then turned on, which heats t4TT pans, melting the sugar, which, in turn, adheres to the grated cocoanut, the attendant occasionally mixing and turning over the material so that the melted sugar can freely mix with it. Af- ter drying twelve hours it is passed through sieve, which separates the coarse from the fine mateli ial and then packed into boxes and barrels. Thirteen hands can turn out from twenty to twenty five barrels per day.-SeieatiJaeate 4nserj- egna.
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