94 



HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS 



COD 



the natives, because, on cutting it off, the pith 

 is exposed, and the tree dies. Between this 

 cabbage-like shoot and the leaves there spring 

 several buds, from which, on making an in- 

 cision, there distills a juice differing but little 

 from water, either in color or consistence. It 

 is the employment of a certain class of men 

 to climb to the top of the trees in the evening, 

 with earthen pots tied to their waists, which 

 they fix there to receive the Juice, which is 

 regularly carried away before the sun has had 

 any influence upon it. This liquid is sold at 

 the bazaars by the natives under the name of 

 toddy. After being kept a few hours it begins 

 to ferment, acquires a sharp taste, and a 

 slightly intoxicating quality, in which state it 

 is drank by the natives and pooler classes 

 with avidity. It is also used as yeast, for 

 which it forms an excellent substitute. By 

 boiling it a coarse kind of sugar is obtained ; 

 and by distillation it yields a strong, ardent 

 spirit, which is sold at a low price, constitut- 

 ing it a most pernicious beverage. The outside 

 rind or husk of the fruit yields the fiber from 

 which the well-known Cocoanut matting is 

 manufactured. In order to obtain it the 

 husks are soaked in salt water for six or 

 twelve months, when the fibre is easily sepa- 

 rated by beating, and is made up into a coarse 

 kind of a yarn called coir. Besides its use for 

 matting, it is extensively used in the manu- 

 factui'e of heavy cordage for ship's cables. It 

 is also used for various kinds of brushes, and 

 for stuffing mattresses, cushions, etc. The 

 next important product of the fruit is the oil, 

 which is procured by boiling and pressing the 

 white kernel or albumen of the nut. It is 

 liquid at the ordinary temperature in tropical 

 countries, and while fre.sh is used in cooking. 

 By the time the nuts reach this country the 

 albumen is solid, and has frequently a rancid 

 smell or taste. When green, or first gathered, 

 this substance is easily separated by pressure 

 into what is termed stearine, which is made 

 into candles, and a very good oil, used for 

 burning in lamps. As an article of food the 

 kernel is of the greatest importance to the in- 

 habitants of the tropics. In the Laccadives it 

 forms the chief food, each person consuming 

 four nuts per day, and the fluid, commonly 

 called milk, affords them an agreeable be- 

 verage. While young they yield a delicious 

 substJince resembling blanc-mange. As the 

 nut ripens, the milk is gradually absorbed, or 

 hardens into the white, fleshy substance that 

 we find when we receive them. The Cocoa- 

 nuts brought to this market are chiefly from 

 Central America, where they are gathered 

 from the interior by the natives, brought to 

 the coast, and sold to dealers who make that 

 trade a specialty. Cocos Weddelliana, intro- 

 duced from South America, is the most oma^ 

 mental of this group, and one of the most 

 graceful Palms in cultivation. For dinner- 

 table decoration there is no Palm to compare 

 with it. It is very dwarf, with finely-divided 

 foliage, which is recurved with exquisite 

 grace. It deserves a place in the smallest 

 collection of plants. The Cocos are all pro- 

 pagated from seed, and require a temperature 

 of about 70" for the germination of the seed 

 and the gro-nlh of the plants. 

 Codiae'um. From Codebo, the Malayan name 

 for one of the species. Nat. Ord. Euphorbi- 

 acecE. 



COF 



By a number of authorities, the greater part 

 of the plants known and described as Crotons, 

 are placed under this genus. They have 

 doubtless all originated from two or three 

 species, and though popularly known as Cro- 

 tons, belonging, as they do, to a different sec- 

 tion of EuphorbiaceoB, they should come under 

 this genus. 



Codlins and Cream. A popular name of the 

 flowers of the Narcissvs Incomparabilis ; also 

 for Epilobium hirsutum. 



Coelia. From koilos, hollow ; in allusion to the 

 pollen masses. Nat. Ord. Orchidaceee. 



A genus of very curious and pretty stove- 

 house orchids, natives of the West Indies and 

 Guatemala. C. Baueriana has pretty, sweet- 

 scented white flowers, and has been in culti- 

 vation since 1790. 



Coelo'gyne. From koilos, hollow, and gyne, a 

 female ; in i-eference to the female organ or 

 pistil. Nat. Ord. Orchidaceee. 



An extensive genus of very beautiful Orchids, 

 natives of sub-tropical Asia. Most of the 

 species are great favorites with Orchid grow- 

 ers, on account of their remarkable flowers, 

 which are produced in great numbers with but 

 very little care or trouble. C. cristata, one 

 of the finest of the genus, has beautiful ivory- 

 white fiowers with a blotch of yellow on the lip. 

 " This is a magnificent species, which any one 

 having a green-house can grow. Of late years 

 it has been grown in great perfection, and it 

 is as easy to have plants a foot or more in 

 diameter, producing hundreds of flowers, as 

 it is to grow Verbenas. Give plenty of water 

 when growing, free circulation of warm air, 

 and not too much heat." — Rand. It may be 

 grown in moss in pots, and is propagated by 

 division. Introduced in 1837. 



Coffe'a. Coffee Tree. From Coffee, the name 

 of a province in Narea, in Africa, where it 

 grows in abundance. Nat. Ord. Rubiacem. 



The coffee of commerce is the fruit of an 

 evergreen shrub, or low-growing tree, rarely 

 attaining a height of twenty feet, which it will 

 only acquire under the most favorable con- 

 ditions of soil and climate, the usual height 

 being from ten to twelve feet. All of our 

 coffee is the fruit of one species. Some 

 botanists, however, claim there are two; but 

 the opinion that the different sorts are merely 

 varieties, resulting from soil, climate, and 

 mode of culture, is the one generally enter- 

 tained. C. Arabica, the parent of the numer- 

 ous varieties in cultivation, is a native of 

 Arabia Felix and Ethiopia, and was first intro- 

 duced to the notice of Europeans by Ean- 

 wolflus in 1573 ; but Alpinus, in 1591, was the 

 first one who scientifically described it. The 

 Dutch were the first to introduce the plant 

 into Europe. Having procured some berries 

 at Mocha, which were carried to Batavia, and 

 there planted, a specimen was sent to Amster- 

 dam, in the year 1690, by Governor Wilson, 

 where it bore fruit, and produced many young 

 plants. From these the East Indies, and most 

 of the gardens of Europe, were furnished. In 

 1714 a plant was presented by the magistrates 

 of Amsterdam to the French King, Louis XIV. 

 This plant was placed at Marley, under the 

 care of the celebrated Jussieu, who afterward 

 gave a plant to Desclieux, a young officer in 

 the French navy, who took it to Martinique, 

 from which the extensive plantations of the 



