216 PRACTICAL FORESTRY 
sists first of an outer covering similar to the black 
walnut. The next coat is a network of aril, which 
forms the mace of commerce. Then there is still a 
thin shell which contains the hard, rich seed. This 
is the common nutmeg. Mr. H. O. Forbes, in his 
book entitled Naturalist’s Wanderings, describes a 
visit to the nutmeg groves of Banda, in the Spice 
Islands of the East Indies. He speaks of finding him- 
self, after only a short walk from the town, “ under 
a delightfully shady canopy of tall kanari-trees and 
among the groves of nutmeg of which Banda is the 
famous garden.” 
Similar to the chocolate is the cola-nut of Africa, 
which is being extensively cultivated in the tropics. 
The product is used in a similar way, although it is 
claimed that cola is a choicer product than chocolate 
or coffee. The nuts furnish a nutritious and stimu- 
lating beverage rich in caffeine, the active principle 
of coffee, and theobromine, the active principle of 
chocolate. They contain more starch and less oil 
than chocolate, and are therefore more easily di- 
gested. The citrate of caffeine which is used in sea- 
sickness and nervous complaints may be readily ob- 
tained from cola. If half that is claimed for this 
product is true, it must be rated as one of the most 
valuable trees of the tropics. | 
By far the most useful product of the tropical 
