629 



We here have an Asteraceous (or Composite) genus placed in an 

 order with which it would be somewhat difficult to trace any con- 

 nexion. 



But we fear that by this time our readers are as tired of the vaga- 

 ries of this ingenious blunderer, as we ourselves are ; before we take 

 leave of him, however, we must quote his description of the sea cocoa- 

 nut (Lodoicea Seychellarum). Some parts of this precious document 

 are so laughable, that we trust we shall be excused for introducing 

 one of the most curious botanical productions that has appeared since 

 our old friend, the Dutchman, figured Ferrtiria Pavonia, and called 

 it Eriophorum. 



" Lodoice des Maldives or Seychelles (Coco de mer), of the genus 

 monoclytedones, and the family of the palms, is one of the most 

 extraordinary and valuable productions in nature, and may be classed 

 among the Lataniers, though it resembles the cocoa-nut in many 

 respects. It is unarmed; the fronds bij)innate, folioles bifid al, 

 flowers dioecious, and grows to the height of from fifty to eighty feet. 

 It is perfectly straight, but its circumference is small. Every tree 

 bears about twenty or thirty cocoa-nuts, weighing from twenty to 

 twenty-five pounds, each of which are borne on a peduncle of six feet 

 in length. The head is covered with from ten to twelve palms, of 

 nearly twenty feet in length. The pedicle is sloping in its contour. 

 The leaf is in the shape of a fan, and has a fuller appearance than that 

 of the cocoa. The wood of this tree is very hard at the surface, but the 

 interior is filled with soft fibres. After being cleared and deprived of its 

 interior fibres, the trunk, which differs little in form from that of the 

 ordinary cocoa, but is harder and thicker, is of use for making tanks to 

 receive water, and palisades for dwellings and gardens. The common 

 name is coco de mer, which was given by the Portuguese, the first dis- 

 coverers; because, in their early voyages to the East Indies, they dis- 

 covered several of these nuts cast up by the sea on the coasts of Mala- 

 bar and the Maldives ; and as they could never find any at all resem- 

 bling them elsewhere, they were led to believe it a marine production. 

 The husk, from which rope is manufactured, resembles, in colour and 

 fibrous consistency, that of the cocoa-nut. The form of the nut is 

 bizarre. The shell is thick, large, and fibrous, and divided into two 

 compartments, containing a light-coloured and trans})arent gelatinous 

 substance, which, though brought to table and good to eat, is with- 

 out any flavour, and as a fi'uit valueless. The shell of the nut is em- 

 ployed in the construction of pitchers of different forms ; those 

 designed to bear water are formed of the whole nut, bored at the top, 

 Vol II. 4 i 



