Paper From Coconut Husks.

A FORMER merchant of New Cale donia, Mr. W. H. Caporn, referring to an article in the January issue, claims that he can make paper from coconut husks, and that he can produce carbon profitably from coconut shells. He says that his experiments were carried out at Mount Dore, and Saint Louis, Nou mea, New Caledonia, and at Surandah, Santo, New Hebrides. The price of coconut husks there is less than in Travancore, the important coconut growing centre of India, where the coir (coconut fibre) industry is highly deve loped.

Mr. Caporn’s process reduces the husk to a brown pulp and then bleaches it by the Johnston process, of Niaouli oil flotages. He declares that 10,000,000 hectares of coconut plantations in New Caledonia and New Hebrides could supply the world with cheaper and better paper, like Niaouli Bark. Ac cording to his plan, husks to the value of 3/- could produce coconut paper (or Niaouli flotage paper) worth 36/-.

Mr. Caporn has asked the French Minister for Colonies for financial aid in his researches. The Minister has forwarded Mr. Capom’s appeal for financial aid and sympathy to the Gov ernor of New Caledonia.