REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 49 



& c . — the spathe forms aprons and petticoats — the pulp of the young nut forms a 

 vegetable blanc-mange, and 100 sorts of sweetmeats are made in India from the 

 kernel — the " milk" or emulsion (prepared from a pressure of the grated kernel, 

 and a little hot water) is used as extensively as cow's milk is employed with us, 

 and also for curries, &c. — Sugar, toddy, and arrack are prepared from the sweet 

 juice of the flower-stalk, in which case the trees are prevented from fruiting — 

 Vinegar and yeast are prepared from the toddy, which is also medicinally used 

 as an aperient — a decoction of the root is " a very useful remedy in intermittent 

 fevers" — the matulla forms a'lint for wounds, bruises, and Leech-bites — the flower- 

 juice is recommended as a demulcent, and the whey -like fluid in the young nut is 

 considered as an excellent cosmetic for the fair-sex — finally, the oil prepared from 

 the kernels, either by decoction or expression, is used for innumerable purposes, — 

 forms soap and candles, and by great pressing is separated into a pure limpid oil 

 called elaine, and an unctuous solid substance, stearine, now manufactured under 

 a patent at an establishment near Vauxhall Bridge, London. Besides all this, 

 the fibrous covering of the husk of the nut is made into a substance called Coir, 

 much used for stuffing mattresses, cushions, &c, and highly esteemed as a supe- 

 rior material for cordage. The shells themselves, as may be easily imagined, are 

 made into cups, and a host of other ornamental trinkets. In 1825, Ceylon alone 

 exported 6,933,552 nuts, chiefly to the continent of India, which were valued at 

 £7,561, or little more than a farthing each. In the London market the price of 

 Coco-nuts is from 10s. to £l 10s. per 120, subject to a duty of Is. when imported 

 from a British possession. 



We should like to see monographs of other trees executed in as interesting a 

 way as that employed to so good a purpose by Mr. Marshall with the Coco-nut. 

 We know nothing so well adapted to excite general attention to the study of 

 vegetables, and to remove the senseless and captious sneer, so often raised against 

 the quiet labours of the unassuming botanist, that his time is wasted in no higher 

 object than counting sepals, stamens, and pistils ; — as if because a man was 

 observed unlocking a door, he should be represented as a trifler playing with a 

 lock and key, by some casual wanderer who did not wait to see him enter the 

 building whose door he was unlocking. 



A History of British Quadrupeds. By Thomas Bell, F.R.S., F.L.S., Prof, of 



Zool. jn King's Coll. Lond. London : Van Voorst, Paternoster Row. Part 



viii. " March, 1837. 



With increasing pleasure we hail the appearance of each succeeding number 



of this elegant and valuable publication, which combines neatness of "getting up' 



with accuracy of scientific and popular information. The names of the authors 



employed on the whole series, at once place the work beyond the suspicion of its 



No. 7, Vol. II. h 



