32 

 COCOA-PLUM. See Chrysobalanus Icaco. 

 COCO-NUT PALM. See Cocos nucifera. 

 COCHINEAL CACTUS. SeeOpuNTiA coccinellifera. 



COCOS NUCIFERA, Linn. 



Coco- Nut Palm. 



Tropics. A palm with pinnate leaves. (Palmce.) 



" Tocldy" is obtained from the flower spathe just before it opens by 

 slicing oft" the top, and collecting the sap in a vessel. It has a pleasant, 

 sweetish taste, and in large doses is aperient. Fermented it is intoxi- 

 cating. It can also be boiled down into a course sugar called ''jaggery," 

 which is refined, or fermented and distilled into spirits. 



The young Coco-nut contains a sweet refreshing water and jelly. 



The nut is generally harvested before it is perfectly mature. If the 

 outer skin dries on the tree the fibre of the husk becomes coarse and 

 dark in colour ; if too young, it is weak. 



Coconut milk is made from gratings of the kernel. The shell is 

 carved and used for many purposes. 



The dried kernel is known as " kopra," and is used for the prepara- 

 tion of oil by expression or boiling. The solid fat is employed in mak- 

 ing candles, and the oil for cooking, for lamps, as a substitute for cod- 

 liver oil, &c. The cake which is left, or " poonac," is a good food for 

 cattle and is also used as a manure. 



The husk of the fruit yields Coir-Fibre. " Coir is remarkable for its 

 durability, and is used for the manufacture of various textile fabrics, 

 brushes, cordage for the rigging of ships, nets, matting, stuffing of 

 cushions, pads and mattresses, scrubbing brushes, fishing net, &c. The 

 tender leaves are used for platting mats, boxes, and other fancy articles. 

 The mature leaves are plaited into matting, and also used as materials 

 for fences, sails, buckets, books, fans, torches, and fuel The ash yields 

 an abundance of potash. The midribs of the leaflets are made use of as 

 brooms, brushes, and skewers. The stalk of the spadix itself is in every 

 day use as a ehuuam brush to whitewash houses with. The reticulated 

 web of the base of the leaf forms a coaise kind of cloth. The cottony 

 hairs are used as a styptic. The soft parts within the stem of the Coco- 

 nut are cut out and pounded in a mortar; the resulting pulp is washed 

 in water, and the farina is collected, and used as a substitute for sago. 



Aged and unfruitful trees are cut down, and the wood is turned to a 

 variety of useful puiposes; is is hard, handsome, and durable, known 

 under the name of Porcupine Wood : it is used for veneering. The hard 

 stem is converted into drums, gutters, water-pipes, small boats, frames, 

 furniture, rafters for houses, spear-shafts, shingles, walking-sticks, 

 ladies' woik boxes, &c. The root stem takes a high polish so as to re- 

 semble agate. A cubic loot weights 70 pounds and the wood is supposed 

 to last ijb years." (Dr. John Shoitt.) 



A dye can be extracted from every part of the plant, producing a 

 dirty-brown colour. (jJum is said t<, be yielded in Tahiti. 



