OF THE COCOANUT DURING GERMINATION 325 
erty.* The cocoanut has been used as a vermifuge in India for 
probably forty generations by the beef eaters of that country and 
is there well known as a means of expelling the flat worm.+ The 
small, green and immature nut is grated fine for medicinal use, 
and when mixed with the oil of the ripe nut becomes a healing 
ointment. 
The fibrous husk (coir) is widely used for the construction of 
tropes, brushes, bags, matting, etc. The compact fleshy edible 
Portion (copra), closely lining the hard shell and which is entirely 
fluid or gelatinous when young, contains a large proportion of fat, 
which is extracted and used for various commercial purposes, such 
as the manufacture of fine soaps and candles and frequently as a 
Substitute for butter. Cocoanut oil and resin melted together 
yield a substance capable of being used with success in filling up 
the seams of boats and ships, and in tropical countries for cover- 
ing the corks of bottles as a protection against the depredations 
of the white ant. A quart of the oil may be obtained from six to 
ten nuts. The hard shell is easily polished and lends itself to the 
formation of various utensils and ornaments. It also has a high 
fuel value. 
Although considerable is known of the constituents of the 
Cocoanut, of its nutritive value and commercial uses, little has 
been done to ascertain the nature of the changes which the nut 
undergoes during germination. At the suggestion of Dr. Mac- 
Dougal we have undertaken such a study, more especially from 
the chemical standpoint, and although our work in this particular 
Connection has not been quite as fruitful as we had hoped it might 
be, our results are not without some interest. 
I. Cuemicar Composition oF THE UNGERMINATED COCOANUT 
Before beginning our work on the germinating seed we felt it 
irable to make ourselves thoroughly familiar with the chemical 
qualities of the ungerminated nut. This seemed all the more 
desirable because of the incomplete as well as the disconnected 
Chemical data thus far recorded in this connection. This purpose 
Was accomplished in a large number of analyses of numerous 
_ * United States Dispensatory, 1619. 1899. 
oe T American Journal of the Medical Sciences, 67: 281. 1889. 
