BARKER THE COCO PALM 49 



In a mature palm, whose crown is clear of the ground, the shape of 

 the head is, then, spherical. It presents surface to the light in all 

 directions, and the breezes play thru it with a soft sound like the 

 rustling of rain, but come a stronger wind, and the leaves curl 

 upon themselves and fold together and turn away from the 

 wind, and practically, only knifelike surfaces are exposed to the 

 incidence of the onrushing current. Thus the slender stem is 

 able to bear the great crown securely and the grace of the marvel- 

 ous miracle is preserved. 



A tree is known by its fruits, is the old adage, and the coco 

 palm is no exception to this saying. Indeed, the coconut is the 

 only part known in many regions of the world remote from where 

 it grows. The nuts, stripped of their enveloping husks, are 

 shipped by the millions from the tropics, and the dried nut- 

 meat, known as "copra" is exported by hundreds and thousands 

 of tons. It is largely used as a basis for making soap, tho we 

 probably know it better in shredded form as it enriches our cakes 

 and candies. 



The palm's precious life-carrying organ, the seed, is well pro- 

 tected by a thick husk of coarse fibers (which serve man for 

 many purposes). This husk protects the seed from many kinds 

 of animals as well as from fungous and bacterial diseases. It 

 also serves as a buoy which has doubtless carried the nut in 

 many a long ocean voyage, resulting in its dispersal completely 

 around the earth in the equatorial belt, and it has reached the 

 most remote islands of the tropic seas. It is evidently impervious 

 to sea-water. The shell, itself, is comparatively thin, but very 

 strong, owing both to its shape and its texture. It is provided 

 with three germinating pores or holes, thru any one of which the 

 germinating embryo may sprout. The embryo itself, is large and 

 well formed, ready to make a quick, strong growth, and nature 

 has provided it with an abundant store of nourishment to endow 

 this start, in the form of a large endosperm. We can all attest 

 nature's generosity in this regard, for it is from this part that we 

 obtain the meat of the coconut to supply our wants. 



At first this store of food is in the form of a whitish water and in 

 this form it is greatly esteemed as a beverage. Indeed, the 

 coconut was used as an emblem of the Prohibition Party in Porto 

 Rico at the time of the campaign to abolish the liquor traffic. 



