310 



by Rhodes grass. In dry situations or in cold localities, it is 

 much to be preferred to sugar cane, and will give better results 

 both in weight of fodder and in food value. — The Agricultural 

 News. 



THE SPELLIXG OF "COCONUT:' 



The Editor of the Tropical Agriculturist. 



Dear Sir : — The following from the Ceylon Morning Leader will 

 prove of interest to your readers : — "The Spelling of 'Coconut.' — 

 Sir Everard im Thurn, speaking at the Royal Horticultural So- 

 ciety, said the nut now known as 'coconut' was similar to the 

 face of a monkey, and so the Spanish word 'coco,' meaning a 

 grin or grimace, was attached to it. When Dr. Johnson was 

 writing his famous dictionary he had an article on the 'Coconut,' 

 but a careless proofreader passed a mistake in the spelling of the 

 word, the compositor having inserted an 'a' and the word appeared 

 as 'cocoanut.' This spelhng became general, but the nuts are 

 now known as 'coconuts,' 'kokernuts,' and 'kokers.' " 



The present universal spelling "coconut" is rightly claimed to 

 have originated with the Tropical Agriculturist, and the general 

 adoption of the spelnng, dropping the extra "a," has materially 

 assisted in establishing the spelling in newspapers and magazines 

 all the world over— the more recent but illogical American "ko- 

 kers" and "kokernuts" notwithstanding; as this form not only 

 gives a longer sound to the word than is otherwise given it, but 

 would appear to the average reader an entirely new product. 



But there are other relative forms of spellings which arc often 

 confusing and misleading — not variations regarding one article, 

 but various articles being known by similar names. This fact de- 

 serves the serious attention of experts, who should agree to adopt 

 names that would avert confusion. 



I refer to the "Cocoa" as still to be seen in the writings of an 

 older generation before nut in referring to the Coconut (Cocos 

 nucifera) ; "Cocoa" and "Cacao" meaning the "Chocolate fruit" 

 — as is often heard in the streets of Colombo and occasionally at 

 Peradeniya on passenger days — ( '/'hrbroiiui, Cacao) ; and "Coca" 

 (Erythroxylon coca). 



Mr. O. W. Barrett, I tliink, it was who in the course of a 

 treatise on the subject stated that in dealing with Cacao from an 

 agricultural and botanical point of view he would leave the man- 

 ufacturer to deal with "Cocoa" — indicating the origin of the ir- 

 regular form. 



Now that we have "Coconut" fixed and in universal use, and 

 "Coca" not being likely to change, will it not be more in keeping 

 with science to do away with "Cocoa" altogether and substitute 

 the more correct form "Cacao," which will leave three articles 

 that arc at present often confused with one another, on separate 



