The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-10-05
C0C0ANUT FIBRE.
Is Now Used in Mattress
Making
Chinese Say the Coeoanut Tree Has a.
Many Uses a. There are Days
In the Year.

Ii has been truly said OF that lElenu
OF man. the domestic pig. that he Is
good from the end OF his snCut TO the :
tip of his tail. but he has a rival In :
the cocoanut. Chinese proverb :
says that the cocoanut tree has as
many properties as there are days in
the year. The fruit of the tree Is the
only part imported into California, and
it is now put to many and widely diff
ferent uses. not one atom being thrown
away. One local importer receives
about 800 900 cocoanuts a month. Only
a small portion OF them Is kept for the
green trade" as 1t Is called when the
nut is sold in its original state, the
greater bulk passing to the factory.
where the husk is removed and the In
ner nut is steamed to facilitate the re-
moval of the meat About thirty-hve
boys and girls are employed there in
peeling off the thin brown skin. This |
is carefully preserved and sent to the |
oil and lead works, where a substance
resembling lard and known as cocoa
nut butter is extracted. This is
worked into all sorts of toilet articles.
The white. meaty part of the nut, aft
er being washed, is thrown into Differ
ent machines to be ground according
. to the quality required. some grinding
ii into strips half an inch wide. The
next process is the cooking. which Is
done in immense brass kettles continu-
ously revolving to insure an even re-
suit. Only the milk contained in the
heart of the nut is used In the cook
ing. After the nut is sufficiently
l. cooked-that is, when the moisture has
u wholly evaporated. the pulp Is placed
:, in shallow iron pans and dried in dry
4 ing-closets. and the "desiccated cocoa
D nut" OF commerce is the result, which
ID enters into many different CONNECTIONS.
That part of the cocoanut whose
properties are not so well known in
California is the outer covering, oil
G husk. The inner woody shell OF this
makes excellent fuel. III you are ini
tiated I,to the mysteries-or, rather
tricks-of the trade you will also know
that ii does duty as spice" How spi
cy it really is depends upon what Il
mixed with it. AT any rate, IL Is toe
good a fuel to be thrown away. But tn
fibrous outer shell of the cocoanu
was, until very recently, thrown int
at the bay, to float off and finally disfig
ure the surrounding beaches. Their
is now factory on the Berkeley shor
of the bay which uses this despise
husk in the manufacture of anothe
useful commercial commodity. 1t
the only factory OF its kind in CalifoI
1 MIA, and 1t assumes a position of pecT
! liar Importance when IL is remembers
. that it is converting what was pre-
vi oSfa
which was hard to get rid OF and whic
bid fair to become nuisance, into a
article of great utility. Out OF tn
.C. husk a very aromatic, perfectly san
tary and springy material Is beir
. made to serve as a substitute in ma
tress-making for the unsanitary curl'
hair. The husk of the cocoanut she
contains fbrous material viii,
really makes excellent furniture al
mattress filling. 1t is infinitely cup
rior to shoddy. This industry Is on
in its infancy on this Coast. Invent
five per cent of the husk Is hair
fiber, the rest Is dust; but not even tf
~ dust Is wasted. for nurserymen Ia
nj found that Ii makes an excellent CO
u ering for winter flower-beds. The HI
process through which the husk Is 2
is that OF crushing. This Is acco
plished by a machine resembling
rock-crusher. and sounding very mu
like one when at work, driven by
40-horse-power engine. This Is cal
the picker. The husk comes out OF
his as dust and coarse hairlike fiber. W
here and there a remnant of shell. Il
is picked over by boys and thro
again into the picker.
rec When IL comes out n second time
~ portion of IL Is twisted into rope
a machine called the twister. WI
about hundred feet of this rope
made ii is tied up into a bundle
hung in a steam box. After be
thoroughly steamed, these bundles
dried in a room heated to 40 degr'
~ While so treated the fiber Is still
CS in the shape OF rope. After that
exposed to the sun. 1t Is by this
cess that the fiber Is curled and
its springy quality. The twisted !
is then put through the picker u
time and when IL Is thrown out
looks as light as down, and settles
\ the sweetest. most aromatic heap IN
Unable. for IL retains Its plea.
kAO woody and spicy odor. which a
ought to make it an ideal material
mattress filling independent OF Its
important sanitary properties.
price of this cocoanut fiber raj
from 21a cents to 10 cents pount
has lately been listed as an araucl
commerce. so that IL is now one OF
It'd ctrfn m