330 COCOA-NUT TREE. 



customed to use the viscid gum of the Bread- 

 fruit tree. 



Mariner mentions the charm at the Tonga 

 islands of T'a Niu, which consists in spinning a 

 cocoa-nut with the husk on, and judging, by the 

 direction of the upper part when again at rest, 

 of the object of inquiry, which is chiefly whether 

 a sick person will recover : for this purpose, the 

 nut being placed on the ground, a relation of the 

 sick person determines that if the nut, when 

 again at rest, points to such a quarter — the east 

 for example — the sick man will recover ; he 

 then prays aloud to the patron god of the family, 

 that he will be pleased to direct the nut, so that 

 it may indicate the truth. The nut being next 

 spun, the result is attended to with confidence, 

 at least with a full conviction that it will truly 

 declare the intentions of the gods at the time. 



The other occasions *bn which the spinning of 

 a cocoa-nut is used, are chiefly for amusement, 

 and then no prayer is made, and no degree of 

 credit is attached to the result. The women 

 often spin a cocoa-nut to decide some dispute at 

 a game. 



Another valuable production of the cocoa-nut . 

 is the oil, which is a valuable article of expor- 

 tation from Ceylon, and other parts of India, 

 Polynesia, &c. It is used in various articles of 



