16 



of its extensive dissemination is that it grows so close to the sea that the 

 ripe fruits are washed away by the waves and afterwards cast upon far- 

 distant shores, where they soon vegetate. It is in this way that the coral 

 islands of the Indian Ocean have become covered with these palms. Every 

 part of this tree is put to some useful purpose. The outside rind or husk 

 of the fruit yields the fiber from which the well-known cocoa matting is 

 manufactured. Cordage, clothes, brushes, brooms, and hats are made from 

 this fiber, and, when curled and dyed, it is used for stuffing mattresses and 

 cushions. An oil is produced by pressing the white kernel of the nut which 

 is used for cooking when fresh, and by pressure affords stearin, which is 

 made into candles, the liquid being used for lamps. The kernel is of great 

 importance as an article of food, and the milk affords an agreeable beverage. 

 While young it yields a delicious substance resembling blanc-mange. The 

 leaves are used for thatching, for making mats, baskets, hats, etc. ; combs 

 are made from the hard footstalk; the heart of the tree is used as we use 

 cabbages. The brown fibrous net work from the base of the leaves is used 

 as sieves, and also made into garments. The wood is used for building and 

 for furniture. The flowers are used medicinally as an astringent and the 

 roots as a febrifuge. 



130. Cocos PLUMOSUS. A Brazilian species, highly ornamental in its long, arching 

 leaves, and producing quantities of orange-colored nuts, in size about as large 

 as a chestnut, inclosed in an edible pulp. 



131 COFFEA ARABICA. The coffee plant, which belongs to the Cinchonacece and is a 

 native of Abyssinia, but is now cultivated in many tropical regions. It 

 can not be successfully cultivated in a climate where the temperature, at 

 any season of the year, falls below 55 degrees, although it will exist where 

 the temperature all but falls short of freezing, but a low fall of temperature 

 greatly retards the ripening of the fruit. Ripe fruits are often gathered 

 from plants in the extreme south of Florida. The beans or seeds are 

 roasted before use, and by this process they gain nearly one half in bulk 

 and lose about a fifth in weight. Heat also changes their essential quali- 

 ties, causing the development of the volatile oil and peculiar acid to which 

 the aroma and flavor are due. The berries contain theine; so also do the 

 leaves, and hi some countries the latter are preferred. 



132. COFFEA LIBERICA. The Liberian coffee, cultivated in Africa, of which country 



it is a native. This plant is of larger and stronger growth than the Ara- 

 bian coffee plant and the fruit is larger. This species is of recent introduc- 

 tion to commerce, and although it was reported as being more prolific than 

 the ordinary coffee plant, the statement has not been borne out in Brazil 

 and Mexico, where it has been tested. It is also more tender than the older 

 known species. 



133. COLA ACUMINATA. An African tree, which has been introduced into the West 



Indies and Brazil for the sake of its seeds, which are known as Cola, or 

 Kola, or Goora nuts, and extensively used as a sort of condiment by the 

 natives of Africa. A small piece of one of these seeds is chewed before 

 each meal to promote digestion. It possesses properties similar to the leaves 

 of coca and contains theine. These nuts have from time immemorial occu- 

 pied a prominent place in the dietetic economy of native tribes in Africa, 

 and the demand for them has established a large commercial industry in 

 the regions where they are obtained. 



134. COLOCASIA ESCULENTA. This plant has been recommended for profitable cul- 



ture in this country for its edible root-stock. It is cultivated in the Sand- 

 wich Islands under the name of Tara. The young leaves are cooked and 

 eaten in the same manner as spinach oV greens in Egypt. They are acrid, 

 but lose their acridity when boiled, the water being changed. The roots are 

 filled with starch, and have long been used as food in various semitropical 

 countries. 



135. CONDAMINEA MACROPHYLLA. This plant belongs to the cinchona family, and 



contains tonic properties. The Peruvian bark gatherers adulterate the true 

 cinchona bark with this, but it may be detected by its white inner surface, 

 its less powerful bitter taste, and- a viscidity not possessed by the cinchonas. 



136. CONVOLVULUS SCAMMONIA. This plant furnishes the scammony of the drug- 



gists. 



137. COOKIA PUNCTVTA. A small-growing tree from China, which produces a fruit 



known as the Wampee. This fruit is a globular berry, with five or fewer coin- 

 partments filled with ^uice. ft is much esteemed in China. 



