HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



cribe3 the process, " oliafing it for half an hour 

 into hair and skin ;" and the wliole surface of 

 the body, from the crown of the head to the 

 soles of the feet, is generally anointed. It is 

 perhaps more fi-equently applied to the hair of 

 the head than to any other part of the body. I 

 cannot, however, learn that they intend to des- 

 troy vermin by this means, although in all pro- 

 bability it may have such an effect. The Asia- 

 tics, without much exception as to rank, do not 

 seem to consider this source of disquietude as 

 either uncomfoi'table or disgraceful. Captain 

 Lyon, who seems to have practised the inunc- 

 tion of oil, .while in Northern Africa, says, " It 

 is very r'efreshing, after a long day's journey to 

 be well oiled over." 



Cocoa nut oil is used as a substitute for olive 

 oil, in the composition of pharmaceutical pre- 

 parations, such as ointments, plasters, &c. ; and 

 it is found to succeed extremely well, except in 

 the composition of plasters where a union is re- 

 quired to take place between oil and the semi- 

 vitreous oxyde of lead. In the laboratory at 

 Columbo, it is employed in a number of the pre- 

 parations where olive oil is directed to be used 

 by the diiFerent pharmacopoeias. One of the 

 editors of the Journal de Pharmaoie, says, res- 

 pecting cocoa nut oil, " J'ai aussi observe que 

 cette huile divisait mieux le mercure qu'aucune 

 autre huile vegetale." — Tom. ii. p. 101. 



Mixed witli dammer (a species of resin) and 

 the compound melted, a substance is formed 

 which is much used in India to caulk the seams 

 of boats and ships, in place of pitch. The same 

 compound is employed to protect the corks of 

 wine and beer bottles from the depredations of 

 white ants. 



In this country, it has been employed as a 

 lamp oil, and in the manufacture of cloth, in- 

 stead of olive oil. Soap is also made of it ; and 

 I am informed the glass-blowers prefer this oil 

 to all others in their operations. 



The following is a schedule of duties levied on 

 the produce of the cocoa nut plantations in Cey- 

 lon, average of three years, 1827-8-9. 



£35,573 



Hitherto the importation of cocoa nut oil into 

 Europe has been attended with much waste by 

 leakage, in consequence of having been imported 

 in casks, the wood of which permits the contents 

 to transude in large quantities. Between the 

 tropics, the temperature of the cabin or cuddy of 



a ship is frequently as high as from 80° to 80' 

 Fahren. ; that of the hold must be considerably 

 higher. Cocoa nut oil does not freeze until the 

 temperature be reduced to 73° Fahren. Hence 

 it is in a fluid condition during a great part of 

 the voyage from India. 



The shells of cocoa nuts are manufactured into 

 beads for rosaries. They are also used as drink- 

 ing- vessels, and for various other domestic pur- 

 poses. Occasionally they are polished by the 

 natives, who cut figures in relief upon them. 

 When thus ornamented, they are sometimes em- 

 ploj'ed by the English as sugar-basins. In the 

 neighbourhood of Monte Video, in South Ame- 

 rica, the ladies drink an infusion of an herb 

 called malte (Paraguay tea) from highly orna- 

 mented cocoa nut cups. They extract the tea 

 fi'om the cup by sucking it through a long silver 

 tube. The common ladle used in great part of 

 India and in the Brazils, is formed of a part of 

 a nut, to which a long wooden handle is fixed. 

 In America they have even given a name to the 

 instrument, for ladles made of silver are called 

 silver cocoas. By the inhabitants of some of the 

 oriental islands, they are employed as a measure 

 for ascertaining the quantity of both dry and 

 fluid substances. Their capacity is known by 

 the number of cowries (Cyprea moneta) they 

 will contain. Hence there are cocoas of 600 or 

 1000 cowries, and so oni 



They are used as fuel by the Indian washer- 

 men to heat their smoothing-irons ; and, when 

 converted into charcoal, and mixed with lime, 

 they are employed to colour the walls of houses. 



As an article of the Materia Medica, the na- 

 tives of India recommend a decoction of the 

 roots of the cocoa tree, mixed with ginger, as an 

 excellent febrifuge. The juice expressed from 

 young branches, combined with oil, is said to be 

 a useful application to piles. In chronic 

 inflammation of the urinary organs they re- 

 commend a mixture of the expressed juice of 

 the flower of the cocoa tree and sugar. The 

 oil is said to be useful, if applied to ulcers 

 or pustules on the head. Mixed with salt, and 

 drunk to the quantity of eight ounces, it is said 

 to expel worms from the intestines. Particular 

 virtues have been attributed to cups made of the 

 shell of the nut. They have been supposed to 

 give an anti-apoplectic quality to intoxicating 

 liquors. Many other virtues are ascribed to 

 different parts of the tree, of which it is not ne- 

 cessary here to take notice. 



When cocoa nuts are intended for seed, they 

 are placed close to one another, with the holes 

 uppermost, and covered with a small quantity of 

 earth. In a short time, the aqueous fluid is ab- 

 sorbed, and the cavity becomes filled with a 

 spongy-white substance. Through the largest 

 of the three holes the plumuJa passes, and some- 

 times along with it the radicles, which run 



