THE COCONUT AND ITS PRODUCTS 21 



duck's egg, something of a rarity. (5) The common 

 coconut of commerce, Cocos nucifera. 



In addition to these must be mentioned the 

 double coconut, or coco-de-mer, a native of the 

 Seychelles Islands, the fruit of the Lodoicea 

 Seychellarum. This tree sometimes attains a height 

 of 100 ft., with a stem varying from a few inches 

 to 2 ft. in diameter, and very large fern-like leaves. 

 The fruit is believed to be one of the largest known, 

 and when the covering rind is 'removed, two oblong 

 nuts, firmly united, are discovered. The fruit 

 weighs from 30 to 40 Ibs., and is borne in bunches, 

 comprising nine or ten nuts, a bunch often weighing 

 3 \ cwt. It takes ten years to ripen, but the albumen, 

 similar to that of the ordinary coconut, is too hard 

 for food purposes. The shells and leaves, however, 

 are in great demand, while the nut is regarded 

 throughout a large area in the East as a sovereign 

 antidote to poison, being the subject of many 

 extraordinary traditions and fables. 



It is difficult to pass from the subject of the 

 commercial uses and values of the coconut without 

 making some reference to rubber, especially as the 

 two commodities are not infrequently bracketed 

 together in the popular mind. Rubber and coconuts 

 have this in common, that, with the limitations 

 referred to in previous chapters, they are both 

 largely grown in the same countries ; but there their 

 similarity ends. Both economically and financially 



