VEGETABLE FIBERS. 551 



Cocoii-uut oil is one of tlie best known products of tlie i)alm, especially 

 as it is employed in the manufacture of stearine candles. In the Bast 

 it is enii)loyed' as laaip-oil, and also for anointiu^i^' the body. Fifteen co- 

 coa-nuts produce about two quarts of oil. The drink known as toddy or 

 palm-wine is derived from the dower spathes before they have ex- 

 panded. It is also distilled, and produces an intoxicating liquor or 

 arrach. It is also made into vinegar, or, if it is not allowed to ferment, 

 may be made to yield jagfjery or sugar, which is brown and coarse. 



We have thus hastily' intlicated some of the uses of this most inter- 

 esting and valuable of plants, which furnishes to commerce a most usefid 

 fiber, and to the natives of many lands food, drink, raiment, house, 

 household articles and utensils, besides supplying their wants in many 

 other ways. 



The collection of the department contains a full series of coir in the 

 various stages of preparation, as tlie husk, the loose fiber, yarn, rope, 

 matting, brushes, and'coir " curled hair" used for upholstering. It is 

 much esteemed in India for stuffing mattresses and cushions for couches 

 and saddles. Very little '•'coir" is at present imported into the United 

 States. An interesting liber specimen is a network of libers taken from 

 the petiole of the leaf. As seen upon the tree at the bases of the young 

 fronds, it is beautifully white and transparent, but at maturity it be- 

 comes tough and coarse, and of the same color of coir. It may be 

 strii)ped off in large pieces, and the fibers are so straight and cross each 

 other so regularly, they are used to strain cocoa-nut oil or palm- wine. 



Coco,'i criRpa. — Ooroja Palm. — I am not certpdn as to the name of the 

 plant from wldch this sample of fiber was obtained. It was received 

 from tlie West Indies through the Interior Department, under the name 

 CotacGO or Gorojo Palm. Two varieties of Corojo are given in the cata- 

 logue of ]\L Bernardin, the " Gorojo de la tcna" from the West Indies, 

 stated to be Gocos crisim^ and the Gorojo^ Gorozo, or Gocoyal h'om Cen- 

 tral America, without name. Squier states that the Corosal, Coyal, or 

 Corojo palm* abounds in dry and rocky locations in Central America 

 and Cuba, and some other portions of tropical America. It is described 

 as a tree 20 feet high, producing a large cluster of nuts, with a hard 

 shell, which yields an oil similar to that of the cocoa-nut. The trunk 

 and leaves of the coyal are armed with long, nan-'ow, hard spines. "The 

 leaves are lined with a long and excellent fiber called Pita de Corojo, from 

 which ropes and cords are manufactured. The libers are equal to those 

 of Henequen, from which they can hardly be distinguished." 



The fibers, as examined, present a ribbon-like form, flat and smooth, 

 and as thin as paper. By rolling between the hands, this ribbon breaks 

 Tip into innumerable filaments, some of them of great fineness, though 

 when viewed with a magnifying glass are found to be quite irregular in 

 size, and not altogether smooth. 



It might prove a valuable fiber for cordage, though a drawback (in 

 the specimen examined) is the presence of little s]>iuos, doubtless those 

 mentioned by Squier, which are as sbarj) as needles, and half an inch 

 in length. They are not readily seen, but by grasping a handful of the 

 fiber in the hand, they make their presence known with painful surety. 



As to the fiber being "equal to Henequen, from which it can hardly be 

 distinguished," the present fiber is far superior in point of strength to 

 any other fiber in the museum, and in point of resemblance is in no re- 

 spect like it, either in color, texture, or general appearance. Its tensile 

 strength with a lateral strain is simply enormous ; by giving the fiber a 

 sharp twist, however, it parts more easily. 



* This is anothar ilhistration of tlic maimer in Nvhich native uaines are multiplied. 



