322 
KIRKWOOD AND GIEs: CHEMICAL STUDIES 
I, 
Deietprtaagrtne occ see lg 
* Smith : Food, 226. 1873, 
INTRODUCTION 
‘“Of the whole class of 
seeds having the character 
of luxuries rather than of 
necessaries, the cocoanut is 
by far the most important to 
mankind, whether considered 
as a delicious and _ nutritious 
food or as supplying valuable oil and 
many other articles useful in social 
ie,’* 
The common cocoanut is derived 
from Cocos nucifera, a species of palm 
growing in practically all tropical coasts 
and islands. The cocoa palm grows 
naturally on the seashore or. in its im- 
mediate vicinity and does not bear well 
when at a great distance from salt 
water. (See analyses, p. 335.) At 
maturity it has a cylindrical stem about 
2 feet in diameter. At its apex the 
tree carries a tuft of leaves, which are 
about 12 feet long. These have num- 
€rous narrow, rigid and long leaflets. 
The leaf, which may attain to 20 feet in 
length, consists of a strong mid-rib, 
whence numerous long acute leaflets 
Spring, giving the whole the appearance 
of a gigantic feather. The flowers which 
produce the nut are yellowish-white. 
They are arranged in spikes, branching 
from a central axis, and inclosed with 
a tough spathe usually a meter or more 
Fic. 1. Inflorescence of the cocoanut showInS 
. . 1 $ 
spathe inclosing the spikes, each with numerov 
male flowers above and a single female flower se 
the base. 4. Winton. 
pee 
