The Winslow mail., 1899-02-04
MONEY In COCOANUTS
A Promising Industry in Our New
Island Possessions.
Some Interesting Information about
the Huge Nuts and the Varf-
Gus Uses of Their Diff
ferent Parts.

There are three stages of different
conditions through which the milk of
the cocoanut passes, in each of which
it is excellent" said Capt. Nathan True
love, sometime master Of a trading
craft in the South Pacific islands. He
had paused at fruiterer's stand and
was examining pile of cocoanuts in the
husk displayed there with an air of in
terest. The first is when the meat and
milk in the green cocoanut have not yet
separated and are blended together in
semif fuid- pulp. aboutsof the consist
ency Of wafer ice, and may be scooped
out and eaten with a spoon. The sec
ont is when the meat is newly hardened
against the inside of the she'll and the
hollow within is filled with the ira
grant. cooling milk, one of the most
beautiful and refreshing draughts that
4 man can find in the tropical lands.
The third stage, to which few people
,utiside the tropics are initiated, is
yhrn the cocoanut is sprouting and the
.:nl!ryo palm tree, formed from the
,,.il!l, and the best of the meat lies iE
the hollow that is left, a kernel Within
kernel. so to speak. and one Of the
daintiest morsels that a man ever lift
ed to his mouth. | was in hopes to find
sprouing cocoanut among these, but
there is none. Here is where the green
sprouts are to be looked form the
monkeys face, as the boys say-the
three round depressions which they
call mouth and eyes III the small end
of the nut.
what we call milk in the cocoGnut
the South sea people call water. Cocoa
nut milk with them is the kernel grated
fine and mixed with this fluid. The re-
sulting compound is of the consistency
of cream, milk-white in color and de-
licious 10 the taste. It is so rich that
one can eat but little Of it directly, and
it is principally used. mixed with other
substances, in preparing dessert dishes
and as a frosting for cake. In the
Mirosenian and other tropical Pacific
island groups the cocoa palm grows
everywhere that enough earth can be
found above the coral reefs to give its
roots a hold, and is the most allround
useful tree there is. Its nuts serve the
natives for food and drink and are a
chief resource for barter.
The juice drawn from the undevel-
oped flowers Of the cocoa palm just be-
fore their budding is sweet and pleas
ant to the taste, and is often given to
sickly or weaving children. When al
lowed to ferment it becomes 'todGy.
the favorte upple of South Sea island
ers. and by distilation the fermented
juice yields potent liquor, resembling
the East India arrack and known by
the same name. Boiled down and sug-
CARED the palm juice makes the deli
cious juggeree which the Javanase
bumboatmen bring out to sell to the
passengers and sailors of ships that put
in at Batavia and other parts of Java
The wood of the cocoa palm, CONNER
ciaHy known as porcupine wood, is
valuable in the making Of furniture and
house trimmings, and from the husks
of the nuts are made the coir rope
which serves as rigging for native craft.
and is worked into mats and baskets.
at is in the production of copra that
the cocoa palm has its chief commercial!
value. OOTId Is lHS meat OF tDS COCOA
nut dried for export, to be used in the
making of oil. In earlier times the
South Sea natives grated the cocoanut
meat and expressed the oil themselves
in rude lever press, to barter with
cruising traders for tobacco, liquor and
trinkets. Now the meat is cut by them
intovpieees of such size and shape a.
will enable them to pack il to the best
advantage and is mostly sent to regular
ports of shipment, where its owners re-
ceive pay in goods or money. The copra
is shipped to Europe or America to fac
tories where the oil is expressed to be
applied TO a variety of uses. Cocoa
stearfn is much used in candle making.
and the oil enters largely into the ma
rine soap which can be used for toilet
and laundry purposes in. sea water
When it is considered that 1000 nuts
will make 500 pounds of copra, which
wit. yield 25 gallons of oil. one of the
vast commercial possibilities of our
new Philippine possessions becomes
evident."-N. Y. Sun. ~