278 



The World's Commercial Products 



Sweet Chestnuts are the fruits of Cas- 

 tanea sativa, a large tree closely allied to the 

 oak, a native of Asia Minor and other parts 

 of Asia, and now very widely cultivated. 

 Trie nuts are highly nutritious. We obtain 

 the bulk of our supplies from Spain, for 

 although the Sweet Chestnut ripens its fruit 

 in this country they are small and of little 

 value. 



Coconuts, the fruits of the well-known 

 coco-nut palm (Cocos nucifera) now widely 

 spread in the maritime regions of the tropics. 

 Elsewhere in this work the coco-nut is dealt 

 with at length. In parts of .the Malay 

 Archipelago coco-nuts are the staple food of 

 the inhabitants. 



Hazel Nuts (Corylus Avellana).a.re abun- 

 .da.nt in the hedgerows and coppices in parts 

 of this country and on the continent. They 

 are also cultivated, and the filbert and cob- 

 nut are varieties which have originated 

 under cultivation. 

 Brazil Nuts are the products oi*Bertholletia excelsa, a very large tree, native to the forests 

 of South America. The nuts are principally exported from the port of Para in Brazil. 



Walnuts of commerce are the fruits of Juglans regia denuded of their pulp. The tree is a 

 native of Persia, temperate Himalaya, and China, and has been cultivated in temperate Europe 

 from great antiquity. Juglans cinerea yields the Butter Nut of North America. 



The Hickory Nuts (Carya alba and C. nigra) are closely allied to the walnut,' and largely 

 eaten in North America. The Pea Nut {Carya glabra) and Pecan Nut (C olivceforniis) are 

 also natives of North America. 



Ground Nuts, the fruits of Arachis hyftogoea, are largely eaten' as dessert in America, 

 China, and elsewhere. 



Cashew Nuts are the fruits of Anacardium occidentale, native to tropical America and the 

 West Indies. The actual nut is the small body borne at the apex of the swollen coloured fruit 

 stalk (see illustration on p. 275). They are very delicious when roasted, but as yet are but 

 little known in this country. 



papaw 



RUBBER 



Rubber,' india-rubber, or caoutchouc, is obtained from the milky juice or latex of various 

 plants, mainly found in 'tropical' countries. There are in the' United Kingdom many latex 

 yielding plants, such as the common wayside milkweeds or spurges, poppies, periwinkles, etc., 

 but they are not commercial sources of rubber. The actual rubber is a mixture of chemical 

 bodies known as hydrocarbons, resins, water, and various other substances, varying with the 

 kind of rubber, i.e., which plant it is obtained from, the method of preparation, purity, and 

 so on. 



Commercial rubbers are distinguished by names denoting often the country of origin, 

 such as Para rubber, Ceara rubber, Lagos silk rubber, etc. We will now proceed to give a 

 brief account of the plants, and the method of cultivation and preparation of each of the chief 

 kinds of rubber : — 



