138 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 



for as a vegetable or salad, and the mature leaves are put to 

 many uses, such as mats, baskets, shingles for native huts, 

 fences, clothing, and ornaments. The leaf -stalks or petioles 

 are made into tool handles and when cut into short lengths 

 and frayed at one end are used as brushes. The midveins of 

 the leaves furnish a strong fiber which is very desirable for 

 basket-making, strainers, and native fishing tackle. The large 

 fibrous triangular-woven sheaths which surround the trunk 

 and the base of the leaf stalks are cut into various shapes to 

 form mats. The fibrous coverings of the flower spikes, when 

 dried, are used as torches and when twisted and soaked in 

 water are made into coarse rope. 



The mature nuts enter into the composition of various 

 native sweetmeats and curries. The water enclosed within 

 the unripe fruit is a cool refreshing drink that is much appre- 

 ciated in most tropical countries and constitutes the only 

 available drinking water in some of the smaller oceanic 

 islands. Cocoanut milk is prepared by grating the white meat, 

 mixing it with water and subsequently straining the mixture 

 through cloth, the so-called milk consisting of the oil in sus- 

 pension with a little mucilage and sugar. It is extensively 

 used in India as a substitute for cow's milk. 



The cocoanut enters into the superstitions of the natives of 

 the Malaya-Polynesian region. Murray tells of a tribe of 

 cannibals, among whom it is not proper for the slayer to par- 

 take of his victim, this privilege being reserved for his com- 

 panions, but he may eat the heart, if during the course of his 

 meal, he sits on one cocoanut and balances himself with his 

 feet on two others. 



Toddy or Wine. — This drink is obtained from the unopen 

 flower spikes, the method of collecting the sap differing with 

 the country. In the Philippines the natives climb the trees, 

 bend the flower spikes down gradually, and bruise or cut. off 

 the tip. The irritation produced by this repeated treatment 

 results in a flow of sap from the wounded surface, 

 and a bamboo tube or panahod is then suspended below to 

 catch the liquid. This bleeding continues for about a month, 

 each day a fresh slice of the flower being cut off to facilitate 

 the flow. As much as six pints a day is sometimes collected 

 from a single tree. The toddy may be used as a beverage 

 when fresh, but it is usually allowed to ferment when it be- 

 comes a highly intoxicating liquor called palm wine. Toddy 

 is a source of both sugar and alcohol. If sugar is to be obtained 



