Tropic Alities

Written for The Pacific Islands Monthly by Sea Serpent.

THE decision of the Ceylon Govern ment to allow the Norwegians to erect a whale-oil factory at Galle has its funny side (writes the editor from Colombo). When the application was made, three months ago, the Ceylon coconut planters found it hard to con tain their feelings. Copra had just reached new and ruinous levels, and everyone connected therewith knew that the chief contributing factor was the Norwegian and the oil from their infernal Antarctic whales. So when the gentlemen of the north said they would like to refine their whale pro ducts in Ceylon (probably because that country has cheap labour and no in come tax) the planters saw insult added to real injury, and almost spat blood. If the exacerbated feelings of the planters should presently be ex pressed in a bonfire out Galle way, no tears will be shed in the coconut groves of Ceylon. * * * MANY friendly messages to folks in New Guinea were given to the edi tor of this journal, when in London, by W. C. Harvey, now comfortably settled down there as buying agent for the big Carpenter organisation. The condition of the copra market natur ally interested one who was so closely connected with the expropriated plan tations; and when “alternative crops” were mentioned, he had some very practical comments to make. “I won der why they do not try Manilla hemp in New Guinea,” he said. “It is one of the few commodities that still com mand a good market. It is grown quite simply from suckers, the same as pine apples, and is easily cultivated. They ought to do more with cocoa in the Territory—l inquired into cocoa possi bilities there once, and was assured by experts that the break of the New Guinea cocoa was the second best in the world. And then there are pine apples. I have never tasted better pines than those grown near Rabaul; and, although pineapple cultivation is steadily extending, there seems to be no limit to the market. Fiji has proved the possibilities of that industry.”

Sound advice. Coconut planting will remain the chief industry of the South Seas, no doubt; but there is no need for planters to sit around with folded hands while these far-reaching eco nomic adjustments are taking place. * * * ARMED with an introduction from Major Clive B. Joske, who has been for years preaching in Fiji the desir ability of copra grading, the editor of this journal called upon Mr. W. J.

Gilbert, president of the London Copra Association; and Mr. Gilbert took him through the Association’s rooms and explained the machinery of the organi sation. Because copra is subject to no system of grading, and arrives from a score of different countries, in a con dition that varies as widely as the poles, the chief function of the Copra Asso ciation is to pronounce judgment con cerning the quality of copra parcels.

The Association conducts about 700 arbitrations per annum, affecting pos sibly 1,000 shipments, and representing last year over 75,000 tons—nearly 10 per cent, of the whole of copra which reaches Europe. It is worthy of note that, out of all these arbitrations, there were only 8 appeals from quality deci sions, and only two from contract con ditions. The standard contract, drawn up by the Association, is almost uni versally used in copra transactions, and seems to work very well.

When Major Joske was in London a few years ago, he and Mr. Roy Fis chel, a well-known oil-seeds broker, got most of the copra men together at a luncheon, and urged upon them the need for a system of grading. But no thing came of it. The buyers were quite interested and favourable; but

the difficulty seemed to be to get pro ducers, working under such an infinite variety of conditions, to conform to any recognised rule or regulation. So. since the mountain would not come to Mahomet, they brought Mahomet to the mountain. In other words, they have tried to make the Copra Associa tion machinery cover a multitude of grades and conditions, so as to get some standards for reckoning quality and value. And It seems to work surpris ingly well. * * * A SIGN of the times may be seen in the membership of the Lon don Copra Association. At one time, when the market was free, and there were more independent brokers and keener competition, the Association was larger and busier than to-day.

Now that the European market is con trolled, firmly and irrevocably, by the Unilever combine, many copra brokers have either gone out of business, or turned their activities elsewhere. The Association still has over 140 members, however—40 of whom are Continental operators. * * * INTERESTING facts are supplied in the latest edition of The Papuan Handbook concerning the desiccated coconut industry, which is now being carried on successfully in that Terri tory. The industry was commenced in Ceylon half a century ago, and is now large and flourishing there. Carefully selected, well-matured nuts are neces sary, and these yield, per 1,000, from 360 to 400 pounds of desiccated coco nut. The nuts are husked and shelled and the while flesh is thrown into long, narrow tanks made of wood or con crete, into which water is poured. The next process is to get rid of the brown ish rind, leaving the pure white ker nel ; this is accomplished by natives with the aid of spokeshaves, kept well sharpened—at the same time the kernel is divided to let the coconut water escape. An expert native will deal with over 1,250 kernels a day. The kernels are then returned to the water, which is sometimes treated with lime to restore the whiteness, as the air and sun discolour the kernels, and pieces of rind not removed are rubbed off with graters. After a thorough washing, the kernels are removed to the machine room, where they are treated according to the grade required. One machine will grade the kernels to a mass, the product being the grated coconut used for curries and cakes. Other machines convert the kernel into chips, strings or threads. The product of the mach ines is removed to the drying room, where it is placed in the desiccator and subjected to a temperature of 160 deg. F. It is then spread out on lead lined tables and, after any discoloured particles have been picked out, the product is graded by sieves and sifters and carefully packed and pressed into lead and paper-lined tea chests. The desiccated coconut is then ready for export. * * * IT is not generally known that some parts of the Central Division of Papua are well provided with clays suitable for the manufacture of earth enware pots and bricks. As a matter of fact, the natives manufacture their cooking pots and water vessels from the clays around Port Moresby. These, the natives trade in large numbers with the tribes in the Purari Delta, from whom they secure sago in exchange.

No analytical work has been yet done on the clays, so consequently nothing definite can be stated concerning their real value to commerce. * * * A WELL-KNOWN Islands traveller, who for the past ten years has held the view that Asiatics will eventually control the destinies of the Pacific, says that after a recent trip around the Groups, he is more convinced than ever that his opinion is correct. From his observations the Chinese were wel comed in the French possessions, be cause they were very successful in de veloping new territory. Another point which impressed him was the way that American firms had captured trade for all classes of goods in Tahiti. Although the consumption of the Group was comparatively small, Americans had made a study of the market, with the result that now few Australian pro ducts could compete.