THE COCOA-XUT BEAR. 149 



tough web or network, which sustains tlie foot-stalks of the 

 leaves, may be stripped off in large pieces and used for 

 straining. 



After the cocoa-nut tree has ceased to bear, its wood serves 

 for many valuable purposes — for th^ building of ships, bunga- 

 lows, and huts, for furniture and farming implements of every 

 description. 



When we consider the numerous gifts conferred upon man- 

 kind by this inestimable tree, we cannot wonder at the anima- 

 tion with which the islander of the Indian Ocean recounts its 

 ' lumdred uses,' or at the superstition which makes him believe 

 that, by some mysterious sympathy, it pines when beyond the 

 reach of the human voice. But man is not the only being that 

 profits by its gifts, for wherever it grows, its sweet and nutri- 

 tious nuts are eagerly sought for by many animals. The small 

 black long-clawed cocoa-nut bear {Ursus malayanus), which 

 inhabits Sumatra and Borneo, and surpasses all other members 

 of the Ursine family by its surprising agility in climbing, 

 though far from despising other fruit, yet shows by its name to 

 which side its inclinations chiefly lean. The East Indian 



I 



MALAY BEAR. PALM SQUIRREL. 



/ 



Palm-martin (Paradoxuriis typus or Pougouni) and the 

 sprightly Palm-squirrel (Sciurus pahnaruvi) likewise climb 

 the cocoa-palms, and, perforating the soft and unripe nuts, 

 eagerly sip their juice. The ubiquitous Eat bites holes into 

 the cocoa-nuts close to their stalk, taking good care not to 

 gnaw the shell where the juice would run out and defraud it 

 of its meal. 



Even the birds diminish the produce of the cocoa-nut grove. 

 The Noddy {Sterna stolida) builds his nest between the foot- 

 stalks, and picks so busily at the blossom, when stormy weather 

 prevents him making any long excursions, that on many islands 

 lie is considered as a chief cause of the sterility of numerous 

 palms. 



