Abstract
THE annual report for 1944 of the Coco-nut Research Scheme (Government Record Office, Colombo, Ceylon, 40 cents, 20 pp., Jan., 194-8) shows that in addition to many routine analyses of copra and coco-nut products, a more detailed examination of the dry distillation of coco-nut shells has been made. The yield of pyrolig-neous acid was 38·2 per cent and of settled tar, 5·6 per cent. Total acid (as acetic) accounted for 11·6 per cent of the pyroligneous acid, which also contained about 3 per cent of wood spirit. An attempt to use coco-nut shells as a starting material for the preparation of furfurol gave rather poor yields. Manurial experiments with nitrogen, phosphorus and potash indicate that only the potash increased the yield of copra, beginning at the fourth year from commencement of applications. On poor soils, complete manuring with all three major nutrients gave a marked increase in the number of female flowers. Various other experiments on cultivation are also described in the report.
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The Coco-nut Research Scheme. Nature 162, 409 (1948). https://doi.org/10.1038/162409b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/162409b0