THE MILK IN THE COCO-NUT 179 



yellow backi,'ioiiiul of a chasfcl Ik'iiares brass- work tiay. 

 The lump of ice bohs enticin^'ly up and down in the centre 

 of the tumbler, or clinks musically against tho edge of the 

 glass as he carries it along. You take tlie cool cup tliank- 

 fully and swallow it down at one long draught ; fresh as a 

 ^lay morning, pure as an English hillside spring, delicate 

 as -well, as coco-nut water. Is'one but itself can be its 

 parallel. It is certainly the most delicious, dainty, trans- 

 parent, crystal drink ever invented. How did it get there, 

 and what is it for ? 



In the early green stage at which coco-nuts are gene- 

 rally picked for houscliold use in the tropics the shell hasn't 

 yet solidilicd into a hard stony coat, but still remains quite 

 soft enough to be readily cut through with a sharp table 

 knife — ^just like young walnuts picked for pickling. If you 

 cut one across while it's in this unsophisticated state, it is 

 easy enough to see the arrangement of the interior, and 

 the part borne by the milk in the development and growth 

 of the mature nut. The ordinary tropical way of opening 

 coco-nuts for table, indeed, is by cutting off the top of the 

 shell and rind in successive slices, at the end where the 

 three pores are situated, until you reach tlu; level of iha 

 water, which fills up the whole intc'rior. The nutty part 

 around the inside of the shell is then extremely soft and 

 jelly-like, so that it can be readily eaten with a spoon ; but 

 as a matter of fact very f^w people ever do eat the flesk at 

 all. After their first few months in the tropics, they lose 

 the taste for this comparatively indigestible part, and con- 

 fine themselves entirely (like patients at a (ierman spa) to 

 drinking the water. A young coco-nut is thus seen to 

 consist, first of a green outer skin, then of a fibrous coat, 

 which afterwards becomes the hair, and next of a harder 

 shell which finally gets quite woody ; while inside all comes 

 the actual seed or unripe nut itself. The office of the coco- 



