CH. V] COCONUTS AND OTHER PALMS 77 



of the stem (of course there is only one, and when this is 

 removed the palm dies, so that it is not as a rule taken till the 

 palm is old) makes an excellent vegetable and is also made into 

 preserves, etc. When the palm is flowering, the main flower 

 stalk can be tapped for "toddy," a drink like the Mexican 

 "pulque," containing much sugar. Evaporation of the toddy 

 furnishes a coarse but good sugar known as jaggery ; its fermen- 

 tation gives an alcoholic drink, from which distillation produces 

 the strong spirit known as arrack, while further fermentation 

 produces vinegar. 



The fruits while young contain a pint or more of cool 

 sweetish watery fluid, which affords a most refreshing drink. 

 As the nut ripens the water decreases and the kernel hardens. 

 The nuts are gathered at about ten months old. Their kernels 

 are eaten raw or in curries and in other ways, milk is expressed 

 from them for flavouring curries and other purposes, and oil 

 is extracted from them by boiling. The commercial oil, in 

 which there is an enormous trade for soapmaking and other 

 uses, is obtained by first drying the kernels in the sun or by 

 other artificial means till they form what is known as " copra," 

 and then pressing this copra in mills. About two-thirds of the 

 weight is obtained as oil, and the refuse, " cake " or poonac, 

 forms a valuable fattening food for cattle or poultry. The oil 

 is occasionally used for lighting, but its great use, especially in 

 Europe and America, is for soapmaking ; it also forms a good 

 hairdressing, and is largely used for the manufacture of candles, 

 as it separates under pressure into a hard wax-like body, 

 stearine, and a liquid oleine. The shell of the nut, after the 

 kernel is taken out, forms drinking cups, bowls, spoons, handles, 

 and many other things: it also makes an excellent smokeless 

 fuel, and yields a good charcoal. 



In recent years a large industry has sprung up in Ceylon in 

 desiccated coconut, i.e. the kernel of the nut with some of the 

 oil expressed, sliced and dried in special desiccators. The pro- 

 duct is soldered up in lead-lined boxes, and exported for use in 

 confectionery. 



The thick outer husk of the coconut, rarely seen in Europe 

 or in North America, contains a large number of long stout 



