202 
to facilitate an acquaintance with the natural productions of — 
one of the most interesting portions of the globe. 
I am, my dear Sir, very faithfully, yours, 
: A. CRUCKSHANKS. 
[The following additional remarks came too late to be 
printed in their proper places.—£d.] 
It is chiefly in the middle province that the Palm of Chili 
(Micrococcos) is found. It is not a common tree, being 
very partially distributed; but several estates owe much of 
their value to the number of Palms upon them, and al- 
though the stem is useless, the leaves, sap, and fruit yield a 
large income to the proprietor. For thatching houses the 
leaves are considered better and more durable than any 
other material; the sap, boiled down to a syrup, is used 
as a substitute for honey, and has a very agreeable flavour; 
and the small cocoa-nuts, about an inch in diameter, of 
which every tree produces a great number, are highly 
esteemed, and form a considerable article of export to Peru. 
A curious method is employed to free the nut from the 
green husk in which it is enveloped, a process that was 
formerly attended with a great loss of time and labour. 4 
number of cows and oxen are driven into an enclosure, 
where a quantity of the fruit is spread, and being very fond 
of its husk, they immediately begin to feed on the fruit, 
only slightly masticating it in the first instance; and swal- 
lowing the whole; afterwards, while chewing the cud, the nuts 
are rejected; and when the meal is finished, a heap of them is 
found before each of the animals, perfectly free from the 
husk, the cattle being thus supplied with food at a season 
when little grass remains: on the hills, at the same time that 
they effectually perform a very useful operation. 
"usu. QA mijat E vos sp » few: words. oo tha quatit to d 
MR DIM Ce aH diutieyr ot the Pusat. Mr. Lambert, in 
: Brande's Journal, and in the Appendix to his splendid Work 
