104 NUT CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



in three years. I plant the shade trees 26 to 30 feet apart, and, if necessary, after 

 the fourth or fifth year remove some of them. A kola tree is said when fully grown 

 to produce 150 pounds of nuts annually. The nuts are worth at present in the Eng- 

 lish market 36d. per pound in the raw state. Made into a paste they are considered 

 by the medical faculty of great value as an article of food for invalids and persons 

 haviirg weak digestion. The nut eaten in its raw state is known to be a powerful 

 antidote for alcohol on the human system. 



" By the people of Africa it is stored as we do corn, and is valued as an article of 

 food. It is also said to be used among the people in the form of a Jecoction as a 

 remedy or cure for yellow fever. I believe from what I have seen that the kola tree 

 will flourish best on low, damp land, if well drained. I have been informed by an old 

 African who works on my cocoa plantation and attends to the kola trees that there 

 are two kinds. The kind that I have divides the nut in two, like an oyster shell; 

 the other divides in four, as it were, across the oyster shell. The latter is considered 

 the better for food. The former is also used for food, but is of more value taken as 

 a decoction for fever." 



Yield. The tree will begin to bear at five or six years of age, and will be in good 

 bearing .at ten years. It should yield then about 120 pounds of nuts. 



Curing. The seed.should be thoroughly dried in the shade if possible, but if there 

 is dampness in the air, the drying must be done in the sun. Unless the seeds are dried 

 perfectly they will decay when shipped. All inferior or worm-eaten seeds should be 

 picked out, to form a second quality. 



Dietetic value. The Kew bulletins for November, 1890, in a lecture on the kola 

 nut by Dr. Neish, published by the Institute of Jamaica, enter fully into the question 

 of its dietetic value. Dr. Neish says that the nuts furnish a nutritious and stimulat- 

 ing beverage. Rich in the active principle of coffee, containing also a large portion of 

 theobromine, the active principle of cocoa, these nuts in addition contain three times 

 the percentage of starch contained in chocolate; they contain less fat, so that in addi- 

 tion to stimulating and nutritious properties it is probable that chocolate prepared from 

 them will more readily agree with delicate stomachs. What enhances the value of 

 kola nuts is the fact that caffeine a medicine now much employed for the relief of 

 seasickness, megrim, and other nervous complaints can be readily obtained from 

 these nuts, for the reason that the nuts contain more caffeine than do coffee berries ; 

 and in the kola nut the caffeine is in the free or uncombined state. An excellent arti- 

 cle of kola chocolate has been produced for the director of the Public Gardens in 

 Jamaica by Prudencio Bravo, of Kingston. Concerning this chocolate, of which a 

 specimen was requested by the Secretary of Agriculture, the director replied, under 

 date March 7, 1892: "It is rather a matter of experiment, as Mr. Bravo is in only a 

 small way of business and will not manufacture on a large scale. The process is sim- 

 ple, consisting in grinding the seeds and mixing with sufficient cocoa fat, or even lard, 

 to render it capable of working into cakes. It may be pure or mixed with varying 

 quantities of cocoa." The Gardener's Chronicle says: -'In the form of a drink it is 

 very serviceable, as we can testify, in obviating and lessening the fatigue of prolonged 

 mental exertion. There is no fear of ill results, but there is a probability that it will 

 be an excellent substitute for beer." 



From the United States Surgeon-General's Office in Washington, D. C., it is 

 learned that as yet the kola has been but little used in this country, but that the results 

 obtained in Europe warrant a more careful study of the merits of this nut than it has 

 yet received in this country. Nicholas Pike says in the American Agriculturist for 

 December, 1891 : "The kola nut has been largely in use for centuries among the natives 

 of Africa. They consider it so valuable that those who have no trees in their own 

 territory will pay by barter for the nuts, either dry or in powder, even their weight in 

 gold dust." 



