50 



recommended especially for military and naval ut-es. Eecent researches 

 show that " coco butter" is quite as agreeable to the taste, and as easily and 

 completely digested, as ordinary butter. Its heat of combustion is 9.066 

 small calories per gram. 



" Coco-nut cream," a dietary product much used in the tropics, is made 

 by grating the endosperm and squeezing the fluid from the finely divided 

 material through cloth. In a warm climate the resultant mixture con- 

 tains much oil and is a very delicious accessory food. Besides the oil, the 

 "cream" contains chiefly carbohydrate and proteid. 



Soaps made from coco-oil combine with, or hold an unusual amount of 

 water, while retaining special hardness, and are characterized by great 

 solubility in salt solution. The so-called " marine" or " salt-water soap" 

 has the property of dissolving as well in salt water as in fresh water. 

 The harder fats of the oil make excellent candles. Coco-nut oil and resin 

 melted together yield a mixture capable of being used with success in fill- 

 ing up the seams of boats and ships, and in tropical countries for covering 

 the corks of bottles as a protection against the depredations of the white ant. 



The fibrous husk (coirj is widely used for the construction of ropes 

 brushes, bags, matting, etc. The hard shell is easily polished, and lends 

 itself to the formation of various utensils and ornaments. It also has a 

 high fuel value. The powdered shell and husk are occasionally used as 

 adulterants of ground spices. 



The milk of the nut, as has already been pointed out, is strongly diu- 

 retic. The endosperm shares with milk the property of a taenicide, and 

 has been used as a vermifuge in India for many years, where it is regarded 

 as an excellent means of expelling the flat worm. The harder fats of 

 the oil are used as constituents for suppositories and related therapeutic 

 products. Medicinally the oil is employed repeatedly as a substitute 

 for lard, olive oil and cod-liver oil. It is also made the chief substance 

 by bulk in various salves and cold cream, pomade and similar cosmetic 

 preparations. In ointments and cerates it is especially valuable because 

 of its ready absorption when rubbed on the surface of the body, and on 

 account of its ability to hold an unusual amount of water or saline fluid. 

 It shows little tendency to produce chemical changes in substances with 

 which it may be associated. (Journal of the New Yorh Botanical Garden.) 



SUGAR CANE EXPERIMENTS IN BRITISH 



GUIANA. 



We have received the Eeport of the Board of Agriculture of British 

 Guiana in which Professor J, B. Harrison, C M.G., gives the results of the 

 Co-operative Sugar Cane Experiments carried out during the crop year 

 1901-2. 



"We quote from the Eeport :- - 



" The Committee being impressed with the danger which underlies 

 " hasty deductions from agricultural experiments conducted over the crops 

 " of only one year, even when carried out on the relatively large scale these 

 " have been, refrain from making any observations on the results, and from 

 " drawing any deductions therefrom. The data are placed on record for 

 " comparison with those which may be obtained in later series of Experi- 

 " mente. The values of the data vary greatly. In the cases of D. 625 and 

 " the Sealy variety the areas were small and the number of Experiments 

 " reported were few. 



