394 VEGEtABLE SOBSTATJCES. 



till it has been planted ten years. The fruit consists 

 externally of a thin but tough rind, of a brownish-red 

 colour; beneath which there is a quantity of very 

 tough fibrous matter, of which cordage and coarse 

 •sail-cloth are sometimes made. Burckhardt says that 

 ships coming from the East Indies to Djidda have 

 cordage made of the cocoa-nut tree. Inclosed within 

 this fibrous mass is the shell, of great firmness, and 

 •used for many domestic purposes. While the nut is 

 green, the whole hollow of the shell is filled with an 

 agreeable, sweetish, refreshing liquor. When the 

 nut is gathered, a formation of albumen takes place 

 upon the inside of the shell, producing that white, 

 firm, pleasant-tasted, but rather indigestible, sub- 

 stance, which is called the kernel of the nut. Ljke 

 the kernels of most nuts, that of the cocoa is very 

 nutritious, from the great quantity of fixed oil that it 

 contains ; but that is also the ingredient to which its 

 indigestible quality is owing. A tree generally fur- 

 nishes about an hundred cocoas. The stem of the 

 cocoa-nut tree is very tough and durable, and used 

 for constructing the abodes of the people in the warm 

 countries where it grows, and the leaves are employed 

 as thatch ; while the ribs answer the same purpose 

 as osiers in the making of baskets and other wicker- 

 work. The tender shoots at the top of the cocoa-nut 

 tree may be used as esculents, and are very tender 

 and delicate ; but they are costly, as they cannot be 

 obtained except at the expense of the tree. 



The finest arrack in the East Indies is made from 

 the juice of the cocoa-nut tree. This juice, before it is 

 distilled, is called toddy ; and those trees from which 

 it is to be obtained are not suffered to bear fruit. 

 There are two ways of obtaining the toddy : they 

 either cut off the monthly shoot from which the fruit 

 •would be produced, and collect the sap in jars from 

 the wound ; or they make a perforation in the trunk 



