Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-11-30
NO WASTEIN THE COCOANUT
How the Various Parts of the Prod =
uct Are Utilized For Profit.

net Are Utilized For Profit.
A Chinese proverb says that the cocoa
nut tree has as many properties as there
are days in the year. The fruit of the
tree is the only part imported into Cali
fornia, and it Is now put to many and
widely different uses, not one atom being
thrown away. One local importer re
ceives about 100000 cocoanuts month.
Only 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 inner nut is
steamed TO facilitate the removal Of the
meat. About 80 boys and girls are EN-.
ployed there in peelng off the thin brown
skin. This is carefully preserved and sent
to the oil and lead works, where a sub.
stance resembling lard and known ms CO.
coanut butter is extracted. This is work
Cd into all sorts of toilet articles.
The white, mcaty part OF the nut, after
being washed is thrown into different
machines to be ground according to the
quality required, some grinding it almost
as fine as -four others cutting it into
strips half an inch wide. The next proc
ess is the cooking which is done in i'm
mcnse brass kettles continuously revolv-
ing 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- pulp
| is placed in shallow iron pans and dried
in drying closets. and the "dcsiccatcd CO.
| coanut" of commerce is the result, which
! enters into many different CONNECTIONS.
That part of the cocoanut whose prop
critics are not so well known in California
! is the outer covering, or husk. 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 il. At any rate, it is too good
n fuel to be thrown away. But the tibrous
outer shell Of the cocoanut was until very
recently thrown into the bay. to lloat off
and finally disigure the surrounding
beaches.
There is now factory on the Berkeley
shore of the bay which uses this dcSpised
/ husk in the manufacture of another use
full commercial commodity. 1t is the only
factory of its kind in California; and il
assumes position Of peculiar importance
when it is remembered that it is convert
ing what was previously considered waste
!
which bid fair to become n nuisance, into
an article of great utility. Out OF thi;
husk very aromatic. perfectly sanitary
and springy material is being made to
serve as a substitute In mattress making
for the unSanitary curled hair.
The husk of the cocoanut shell contain,
n ibrous material which really makes ex
celcnt furniture and mattress filling. Il
is infinitely superior to shoddy. This in
dustry is only in its infancy on this coas st
Twenty-Five per cent of the husk is hail
or fiber the rest is dust, but not even thi,
dust is wasted. for nurserymen have
found that il makes an excellent GOVERN.
for winter flower beds The first process
through which the husk is put is that OF
crushing. This is accomplished by ma
chine resembling rock crusher an,
sounding very much like one when a
work, driven by a 40 horsepower engine
This is called the picker The husb come
out of it as dust and coarse hairlike fiber
with here and there a remnant of shell
This is picked over by boys and hrowi
again into the picker.
When it comes ont second time.
portion of it is twisted into a rope by
machine called the twster when abou
100 feet of this rope is made, it is tied ~
into q bundle and hung in n steam box
After being thoroughly steamed thes,
bundles are dried in room heated to ~
! degrees. While so treated the fiber i
still kept in the shape Of rope. 1t is b.
this process that the FIBER is cured an,
, gets its springy quality. The twiste,
fiber is then put through the picker
third time and when it is thrown ont
looks as light ms down and settles into til
sweetest, most aromatic heap imaginable
for it retains its pleasant woody AM
spicy odor which alone ought to make
an ideal material for mattress filing in
dependent of it's more important sanitar.
properties. The price of this cocoan !
fiber ranges from 2la to 10 cents n pound
It has lately been listed as an article o
commerce, so that it is now one OF the es
tablished industries of this coast.-SaI
Francisco Chronicle.