The Cocoanut Palm

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 11, 14 January 1936, Page 3

The Cocoanut Palm

UNIVERSAL PROVIDER INDUSTRY IN GEYLON . v LONDON, Dec. 14. Ceylon was not ono of the original homes of the coconut palm, but to-day there are 1,100,000 acres of the island used for growing these universal providers and in the homo of its adoption greater use is probably made o' the palm and its fruit than in any other country. In Ceylon House in London to-day an_ exhibition is being held showing how the people of Ceylon make use of the palm. Lake all other trades, the coconut trade has- suffered through the world economic situation. The normal price of coconuts is from 45 to 55 rupees per 1000 nuts. A year or so ago the price fell to 12 rupees per 1000. Owing to the Italian war activity tho price . Hus now gone up to 35 rupees per 1000 nuts. There are 131 rupees to the pound sterling. The value of the palm may be appreciated when it is said that over 200 products may be obtained from it. In fact, it is the provider of nearly all the domestic requirements of the native from the cradle of the grave. In tho commercial world, however, the principal products is copra, the kernel of the nut dried either, by sun or artificial heat. It is exported to Europe or America yearly in thousands of tons. Each ton represents the product of 6000 to 7000 nuts. From the copra is taken coconut oil, which is used for soap, candles, and in the manufacture of margarine. The solid portion is called poonac, and is used for cattle and poultry food. In the forty years in which dcsiccat-* ed coconut has been prepared in Ceylon the yearly output has steadily increased and attained the figure of 32,450 tons in 1934. Tho water contained within the immature nuts makes a cooling beverage, greatly valued for its vitamin contents, and the tender kernel forms a pleasant food, something between a blancmange and a junket. A creamy milk is made from tho kernel of the coconut by grating, slightly moistening ana then squeezing the mass; this milk is an essential ingredient in the preparation of curry, which accompanies tho daily meal of boiled rice.

Products from the Flower Various products come from the flower cluster, which is about two or throe feet long. Before the spathe containing the cluster bursts it is bound round with flax. At the proper time the end of the spathe is cut across and the liquid flows out slowly. The light beer of tropical countries. If it is boiled it turns into treacle. A further boiling produces jaggery, resembling maple sugar. Or again, if the toddy is exposed to the sun for a week, a vinegar results which is used in every native house.

After six hours the toddy begins to ferment. It is' then distilled to yield the spirit, arrack, tho local equivalent to our gin or whisky. It is very strong, and an English company is now making a cocktail from arrack. Several hundred years ago an Aran arrived in Ceylon and taught the people to make this arrack, but as the religions of the island forbade the drinking of spirits the coconuts were not used in this way until recent years.

Coconut oil used to be the common luminant throughout Ceylon and India, and still forms the light-offering at temples. The dried branches, the husks and shells supply the kindling needed for domestic purposes. The seasoned wood of the palm is very hard and close, and is much used for posts and rafters in houses and sheds. The middle of tho trunk is pulpy and is sometimes scooped out for water troughing and spouting. Ropes,- Matting, Brushes, etc. Around the nut is a husk of fibre. These fibres are spun by hand into yarn, which is used on British farms for stitching thatch and for linking together the hop poles for the climbing hop vines. Made into cables, it is valued on ships for its "spring” or resilience, and for its power to resist the action of salt water.

A great amount is absorbed in making coir matting, door rugs, and mats, which are now in general use throughout the world, and the industry employs a vast army of the people of South India and Ceylon—the industry being largely a “cottage’’ one. The longer and stiller fibres go to Europe and Japan for broom and brush making, the shorter fibres being used the world over in mattresses, pillows, and upholstery generally. The corky "dust” in which the fibre is embedded is in demand for treating the soil. At the exhibition at Ceylon House there are many charming ornaments made from the shell, and also from the hard timber. A complete tea service, including the teapot, is made of shell. The shell is also exported to Europe for button making, and it is also burnt into charcoal. This charcoal is employed for purifying wines, and its latest use is as the basis of an ingredient for gas masks. Short stumps of the fruit stalk form the recognised native tooth brush, and tooth powder is the charcoal from the shell.