214 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
soon after the fragrant blossoms fall, and after dry- 
ing, constitute the allspice of commerce. 
Of the many tropical nuts only two are well- 
known to northern people. These are the Brazil-nut 
and the coconut. The Brazil-nut is yielded by a 
majestic tree of the Amazon Valley. The nuts are 
formed in a hard, round shell, about twenty in num- 
ber. The shell is six inches in diameter, and so hard 
that an ax is used with which to crack it. The col- 
lection of these nuts is a festival-time for the In- 
dians, who pack them in baskets and ship them down 
the great river in large quantities to the city of Para. 
There often comes with the Brazil-nuts a smaller, 
finer-flavored nut. It is the sapucaia-nut. Although 
very similar to the Brazil-nut, it is formed in an urn- 
shaped vessel, six inches in diameter, with a lid at its 
tip. When the nuts are ripe the lid flies off with an 
explosive pop. This fruit is sometimes called mon- 
key-pot, and its scientific family name is lecythis, 
which is Greek, meaning oil-flask. The full name of 
this tree is Lecythis zabucajo. 
With the coconut we are all familiar. Although 
an extremely beautiful and useful tree it yields wood 
of inferior grade. This is so of the palms in general, 
although palm-wood and palm-leaves are extensively 
used in tropical countries by the natives for house 
construction. The trunks of palms are usually 
