2300 



NUTS 



NUTS 



remains after the oil has been expressed is used as a cattle-food and 

 as a fertilizer. To a large extent, the nuts are strung on the fibers of 

 a palm leaf and used as an illuminant by the natives where the spe- 

 cies are grown. 



The genus is native to the milder parts of the North Temperate, 



extent they are used when raw or boiled. The nuts are very rich 

 in a valuable oil, useful in cooking and in the making of salads. 



Areca Catechu. BETEL-NUT. ARECA-NUT. PINANG. Palmaceae. 

 Fig. 2539. The seed of an eastern tropical palm, which in size, 

 eneral character and color much resembles the ordinary nutmeg. 



me genus is irauve 10 uie muuei pans ui uie jnwui j. cuijjciai,c, general character ana color mucn resemoies tne oramary nutmeg, 

 and the northern portion of the Tropical Zone of the Orient. The j n f orm t h e "nuts" are not unlike the acorns of white oak, except 



Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction has introduced the 

 wood-oil trees into the southern states and California, where their 

 culture promises to become an important industry. 



that they are more rounded at the apex. To an enormous extent, 

 betel-nuts are dipped in lime, wrapped in betel leaves (Piper betle) 

 and chewed by the natives of the tropics, especially of India and 



ture promises to become an important industry. an d chewed by the natives of the tropics, especially of India and 



The following list includes the more important species and sey- the Philippines. The effect of betel-chewing is much the same as 



eral of the common names by which the fruits are known: A. Fordii, 

 Chinese wood-oil nut, tung yu; A. molluccana (A. triloba), candle- 

 nut, Spanish walnut, Tahiti, or country walnut, kukui of Hawaii; 

 A. montana, Mu-yu wood-oil. 



Anacardium occidentals. CASHEW. CACHEW. ACAJOU. CAJA. 

 CAJOU. MONKEY-NUT. Anacardiacese. Kidney-shaped nuts, an 

 inch or more long, by about J^inch wide and more than J^inch in 

 thickness, with a double outer shell, between which is an oily, dark 

 brownish fluid, very acrid and possessing extremely poisonous prop- 

 erties similar to those of poisons ivy and sumac, to which the species 

 is closely related. The outer shell is smooth and ivory-like in appear- 



2539. 1, Caryocar, husk above, nut below; 2, Telfairia; 3, Betel-nut, Areca; 4, Gevu- 

 ina; 5, Pistacia; 6, Pili-nut, Canarium; 7, Semecarpus; 8, Trapa natans; 9, Trapa 

 bispinosa. (X%) 



ance, rigid and tough but thin and easily cut. The kernels are firm, 

 sweet, and very agreeable when roasted. The nuts are formed on 

 the end of a fleshy pear-shaped pedicel. Figs. 33. 192, Vol. I. 



Cashew-nuts do not appear in the market until after the poison- 

 ous properties have been entirely dispelled by roasting and the 

 wholesome kernels have been separated from the shells. The species 

 is native to the West Indies. It is now cultivated to a very large 

 extent throughout the American tropics, both north and south of 

 the equator. 



that of tobacco-chewing in this country. Fig. 367. 



Attalea Cohune. COHUNE-NUT. CAHOUN-NUT. Palmacese. The 

 oval or fusiform seeds of the cohune palm of Central America. 

 Typical specimens measure from 2 to 2 Yi inches in length, by about 

 1 y<i inches in greatest diameter. Within the shell, which is fully Ji 

 inch in diameter and very hard, is a single elliptical kernel. Cohune- 

 nut oil has long been used in the manufacture of soap and as an 

 adulterant for coconut oil. At present "There is practically an 

 unlimited demand for all of these (palm) oils in the European 

 margarin trade, where they are now preferred to oleo oil and neutral 

 lard as a hardening ingredient." "Daily Consular and Trade 

 Reports," June 27,1914. 



Attalea funifera. COQUILLA-NUT. Palm- 

 acex. Seeds of a rich brown color, 3 or 4 

 inches long, oval and of very hard texture. 

 Used as a substitute for ivory in the manu- 

 facture of door-knobs, umbrella handles, 

 buttons and various other commodities of 

 the household. From a lofty South Ameri- 

 can palm. Fruits borne in large clusters. 



Bassia latifolia (Madhuca indica). IL- 

 LIPE- or ILLUPE-NUT. Sapotacex. The 

 long-oval, smooth-surfaced, coffee-colored 

 seed of a tree native to the East Indies. 

 Typical seeds measure approximately 1 J4 

 inches in length by Yi inch in diameter. 

 According to the "Daily Consular and 

 Trade Reports," "Illipe-nuts are used to 

 manufacture an edible oil similar to lard." 

 This report further says: "There are two 

 crops a year, one large and one small. The 

 large crop is now (August 12) nearly finished 

 and a new crop will come in from March 

 to June, 1912." 



Bertholletia excelsa. BRAZILNUT. BUT- 

 TERNUT. NIGGER-TOE. CREAM-NUT. PARA- 

 NUT. CASTANEA or CASTANA (corruption 

 of "Castanha," Portuguese word for chest- 

 nut). JuviA-Nur. Myrtacese. The seeds of 

 certain very large, uncultivated trees, com- 

 mon to great areas of the river-bottom sec- 

 tions of northern Brazil. Grown in a spheri- 

 cal or pear-shaped capsule of 2 Yi or 3 inches 

 in diameter, having a hard, woody, outer 

 wall, within which are encased from eigh- 

 teen to twenty-four of the nuts. The cap- 

 sule is covered with a dark brown outer 

 husk greatly resembling that of the walnut. 

 The nuts which are sharply triangular, 

 measure from 1 Yi to 2 or more inches in 

 length, by i4tol inch in greatest diameter. 

 They have a single, solid kernel, sweet and 

 very good, which is protected by a some- 

 what rough, rigid but thin shell, to which 

 it often closely adheres. Fig. 543. 



Received into this country for consump- 

 tion in enormous quantities during the 

 months of spring and early summer, and 

 held in storage until the following season. 



Brosimum Alicastrum (Piratinera Ali- 

 castrum). BREAD-NUT of Jamaica. Mora- 



cese. The small roundish, yellow or brownish seeds, an inch or less 

 in diameter, of a large tropical American tree. These seeds are 

 borne singly or sometimes two in a thin paper-like, but stout 

 shell, with smooth and somewhat granular surface. They are edible 

 only after cooking or roasting. 



Bunium Bulbocastanum. LousY-Ntrr. EARTH-NUT. EARTH- 

 CHESTNUT. HAWK-NUT. KIPPER-NUT. PIG-NUT. AR-NUTS. 

 YER-NUTS. JuR-Ntrrs. Umbelliferx. Small nut-like tubers which 

 form on the roots of plants of this species. They have a sweetish 



; enuawi. Jorm on the roots ol plants ot tms species, iney nave a sweeusn 



Apios tuberosa. GROUNDNUT. WILD BEAN. Leguminosse. The taste and are eaten by children, either raw or roasted. Rather 



numerous, dark brown, fleshy tubers from 1 to 2 inches in length, 

 by 1 to 1H inches in diameter, and of somewhat irregular, oval or 

 rounded form, which are borne on the rootstocks of an elegant 

 twining perennial. Little use is made of these tubers, although they 

 are said to have a rich nutty flavor when properly prepared. The 

 species is native to lowlands of the eastern part of the United States, 

 from Pennsylvania on the north, to Georgia on the south. Fig. 233. 



Arachis hypogasa. PEANUT. GOOBER. PINDAR. GROUNDNUT. 

 GROUND PEA. MANILA-NUT. MONKEY-NUT. Leguminosx. Famil- 

 iar straw-colored, oblong nuts, with thin fibrous, papery shells, 

 rounded at the ends, and constricted at the middle, common at all 

 fruit-stands. They are the seeds of a low-growing annual which 

 pushes its pods under ground while they are maturing. Extensively 

 cultivated in the southern part of the United States and elsewhere 

 that seasons permit. 



The constriction at the middle forms a partition between the 

 two end chambers, each of which contains a single nutritious kernel. 

 These are most commonly eaten when roasted, although to a large 



too acid for adults unless roasted. From western Europe. 



Butyrospermum Parkii. SHEA-NUT. Sapotacex. The shea-nut 

 is the seed of an extensive African tree (butter tree) which according 

 to Consul W. J. Yerby, "Daily Consular and Trade Reports," in 

 Sierra Leone, British Africa, grows to a height of over 40 feet. 

 "The nut," he says, "is of about the size and shape of a walnut, 

 but is covered with a smooth skin resembling that of a Spanish 

 chestnut, which can be pulled off in the same way when fresh. 

 Inside this skin is a soft kernel of a light yellow color when fresh, and 

 chocolate color when dry, which contains a large proportion of fatty 

 material, that when extracted is called shea butter. 



"The outside fleshy pulp, whose weight is approximately equal 

 to that of the nut, rots away in time and splits, leaving the nut 

 exposed. The natives hasten its removal by burying the freshly 

 gathered fruit in a pit for some days. The nuts, divested of their 

 outer covering (pulp), are dried, either by being placed in the sun 

 for about twelve days or by heating in an earth oven. In this process 

 the nut loses 30 to 40 per cent of its weight. The skin is removed and 



