COCOA-NUTS. 229 



In the Maldive Islands a species of fish (the bonneta) is 

 preserved by means of the cocoa-nut leaf; the backbone is 

 removed from the fish, and, after being placed for some 

 hours in the sun, with frequent sprinklings of salt water, 

 it is wrapped carefully in cocoa leaves and buried in the 

 sand, where it soon acquires a horny hardness, and is then 

 sold in the markets. 



By skillful manipulations hats, bonnets, capes, and tip- 

 pets are formed of the entire leaf, and in the Marquesas 

 Islands the full dress of the priests is formed of these won- 

 drous leaves, without the addition of any other material. 



Soap is seldom needed or employed in the regions of the 

 cocoa-palm, because these same leaves, when burned, yield 

 a large proportion of potash, which admirably answers the 

 purpose of a cleansing agent. 



So numerous, in fact, are the uses of the cocoa-nut leaf 

 that our limited space compels us to leave their value 

 "half untold." Let us, therefore, pass on to the fruit of 

 this noble tree, the cocoa-nut itself. 



In its earliest state, small, green, and immature, it yet 

 commences its career of service to man, for, when grated 

 fine, it becomes a valuable medicine, and, when mixed 

 with the oil of the ripe nut, it becomes a healing oint- 

 ment. A little further a'dvanced, the semi-transparent 

 jelly which lines the shell furnishes a delicate and nutri- 

 tious food, while the aqueous fluid or " milk" in its center 

 becomes, when iced, a most delicious luxury, which is also 

 frequently used in tea as a substitute for cow's milk. 



In their unripe state cocoa-nuts are used as a regular 

 article of food. The natives of Ceylon and Malacca, living 

 upon no other food than this, will yet labor vigorously day 

 after day, while in the Maldive Islands labor performed 

 is more frequently than otherwise paid for in cocoa-nuts 

 alone. 



