The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1899-11-15
NO WASTE IN THE COCOANUT.
How the Various Parts of the Prod
net Are Utilized for Profit.

Chinese proverb says that the cocoa
nut tree has as many properties as there
are days III the year. The fruit OF the
tree Is the only part imported into Cali
fornia, and it is now put to many and
wldely-different uses, not one atom being
thrown away. One local importer re
ceives about 300, 900 cocoanuts month.
Only a small portion of them is kept FOR
the green trade" as it is called wnen
the nut is sold in it's 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 -nve
boys and girls are employed there IN
peeling off the thin brown skin. rms IS
carefully preserved and sent to the OIL
and lead works, where a substance re-
sembling lard and known as cocoanut
butter is extracted. This is worked into
all sorts Of toilet articles. The White,
meaty part of the nut, after being
washed, is thrown into different ma
chimes to be ground according to the
most as fine as -four, others cutting it
into strips half an inch wide. The next
process is the cooking, which is done in
immense brass kettles continuously re-
volving to insure an even result. Only
the milk contained in the heart Of the
nut is used in the cooking. After the
nut is sufficiently cooked-that is, when
the moisture has wholly evaporated, the
pulp is placed in shallow iron pans and
dried in drying closets, and the ''dessic-
Gated cOcoanut' of commerce is the re-
suit, which enters into many different
corrections.
That part Of the cocoanut whose prop
critics are not so well known in California
is the outer covering or musk. The inner
woody shell Of this makes excellent fuel.
Ii you are initiated into the mysteries
or, rather, tricks-of the trade, you will
also know that it does duty as spice
How spicy it really is depends upon
what is mixed with it. AT any rate 1t is
too good a fuel TO be thrown away. Rut
the hbrous outer shell of the cocoanut
was, until very recently, thrown into the
bay, to float off and finally disfgure the
surrounding beaches. There is now a
factory on the Berkeley shore eff the bay
which uses this despised husk in the
manufacture of another useful CONNER
cial commodity. 1t is the only factory Of
its kind in California. and it assumes a
position Of peculiar Importance when it
is remembered that it is converting what
was previously considered waste matter,
which was hard to get rid of and which
bid fair to become a nuisance, into an ar
ticle of great utility. Out of this husk q
very aromatic, perfectly sanitary and
springy material is being made to serve
as a substitute ia mattress making for
the unsanitary curled hair. The husk of
the cOcOanut shell contains a fbrous ma
terial which really makes excellent furni-
ture and mattress filling. 1t is infinitely
superior to shoddy. This industry is only
in its infancy on this coast. Twenty-Five
per cent. Of the husk is hair or fiber, the
rest is dust; but not even this dust is
wasted, for nurserymen have found that
it makes an excellent covering for winter
flower beds. The first process through
which the husk is put is that of crushing.
This is accomplished by machine re-
sembling rock crusher, and sounding
very much like one when at work, driven
by q 40 horsepower engine. This is
called the picker. The husk comes out Of
it as dust and coarse hair like fiber, with
here and there a remnant of shell. This
is picked over by boys and thrown again
into the picker.
When it comes out second time a por-
ten of it is twisted into a rope by a ma
chine called the twister. When about a
hundred feet of this rope is made it is
tied up into a bundle and hung in a
steam box. After being thoroughly
steamed these bundles are dried in a room
heated to 120 degrees. While so treated
the fiber is still kept in the shape of rope.
1t is by this process that the fiber is
curled and gets its springy quality. The
twisted fiber is then put through the
picker a third time, and when it is
thrown out it looks as light as down, and
settles into the sweetest, most aromatic
heap imaginable, for it retains it's pleas
ant woody and spicy odor, which alone
ought to make it an ideal material for
mattress filing independent Of its more
important sanitary properties. The price
of this cocoanut fiber ranges from 21a
cents to 10 cents per pound. 1t has lately
been listed as an article Of commerce, so
that it is now one of the established in
dustries Of this coast.-San Francisco
Chronicle.