5 



COLA NUT OR BISSY. 



Cola Nuts or Bissy are the seeds of a tree (Cola acuminata. R. Br ), 20 to 40 feat high, a native 

 of western tropical Africa. Each fertile flower produces 5 pods, and, as the pods contain each from 5 

 to 12 seeds, a single flower may yield 54 seeds, measuring a quart, and weighing l^lbs. 



Situation. — Wherever bananas, nutmegs, or cocoa grow, cola wiil fl ourish. Hot, damp situations, 

 where the annual rain falls is not less than 80 inches, suit it best. The tree grows in Jamaica in 

 suitable situations at elevations varying from sea-level up to 3,000 feet, but probably it succeeds best, 

 below 1,000 feet. 



Soil. A deep, rich, somewhat clayey soil, will doubtless be most favorable for production, but the 

 cola tree is hard v. and will endure variations in soil as it does in climate. 



Planting. — Young plants are obtained by sowing the seeds, which may be done either in the posi- 

 tions of the trees to be permanent, or in nurseries to be transplanted. The latter is the better plan. 

 The soil of the nursery bods should be a mixture of loam with peat or decayed leaf moul I. The seeds 

 may be sown at, distances of 9 to 12 inches apart, and should be shaded. 



The seedlings may be transplanted, when they are from 2 to 3 feet high. The pennane.it situa- 

 tion should not be less than ^5 feet apart. If the soil is not very deep and rich, holes should be dug 

 3 feet every way sometime before planting, ani^ only surface soil filled in. Shade for the plants is 

 necossa' v, and this is best obtained by growing bananas al'ernately with the cola. 



Yield. — The tree will begin to bear after 5 or 6 years, and will be in full bearing at 10 years. 

 It should yield timn about 120lb*. weight of nuts. An acre would yield from 7,00 J to 8,0J0lbs. The 

 " Chemist and Druggist," dated 15th August, 1891, gives the following quotation in its Trade Reports: 

 " On Wednesday Is. per lb. was paid for a box of well dried West Indian (Grenada) colas." Mr. Gr. 

 A. Stevens, Bri ish Consul in Bahia, in a eemmunie ttion to the Marquis of Salisbury dated September, 

 1890, states that nuts arrive in that port fiom Lagos, and "each bean is sold here from 2d. to 31., 

 according to freshness." 



Curing. — The seeds shou d be thoroughly dried, in the shade, if possible; but if there is damp- 

 ness in the air, the drying must be done in the sun. Unless the see ls are dried perfecily, they will 

 decay when exportei. All infe.ior, or worm-eaten seeds shmld be picked out to form a second 

 quality. 



Dietetic Value. — The Kew Bulletin for November, l89o, and a lecture on " Kola Nut" by Dr. 

 Neish, published oy iho Institute of Jamaica, ent >r fully into the question of its dietetic value. Dr. 

 Neish says that the nuts furnish a nutrient an I stimulant beverage. Rich in the active principle of 

 coffee, containing also a large proportion of theobromine, the active principle of cacio, these nms. in 

 addition, contain three times the percentage of starch contained in chocolaie ; an I, moreover, they also 

 contain less fat, so that, in addition to stimulant and nutritive properties, there is the probability that 

 a chocolate prepared from them will more readily agree with delicaie stomachs . . . What 

 enhances the value of oola-uuts is the fact that citrate of caffaiue, — a medicine now much employed for 

 the relief of sea-sickness, megrim, and other nervous complaints — can be re\dily obtained from these 

 nuts, for the reason that the nuts contain more caffeine than coffee berries; ard in the cola-nut the 

 caffeine is in the tree or unombined state." Mr. Prudencio Bravo, of Kingston, has kindly made ex- 

 periments for the Director of Public Gardens in the manufacture of a cola- chocolate, and has produced 

 an excellent article. Kola has been recommended by medical men in nervous compl lints, and has been 

 used with success as a remedy for sea- sickness. 



FERNS: SYNOPTICAL LIST, V. 



Synoptical List, with description, of the Ferns and Fern-Allies of Jamaica, by G. S. Jenmaa, Super' 

 intendent Botanical Gardens, Demerara, ( continued ). 



Genus IV. D.wallia, Smith. 



Sori small, subglobose, oval or punctiform terminal on the veins, marginal or intramarginal ; 

 involucres sepal or pocket- like, attached only by the base or more often also by the sides, free and open- 

 ing exteriorly ; veins simple or forked; fronds variable in size and cutting. 



As in the last genus, when the sori are mirginal the edge of the trond forms an outer valve to the 

 involucres. The vertical range is from the lowest to the highest elevations. 

 a. Fronds pinnate or bipinnate. 

 b. Fronds pinnate. 



1. D. Saccoloma, Spreng. 

 bb. Fronds bipinnate. 



2 D. Sloauei, Jenm. 

 an. Fronds decompouul, not climbing nor prickly. Sori intramarginal. 

 b. Involucres sepal- like, attucheu bv the base only. 



3. D. Speluncae, Baker. 



bb. Involucres pocket-shaped, attached by the sides. 



4. D. imequidis, Kze. 



aaa. Fronds decompound, scandent, prickly; sori terminal on the segments. 



5. D. aculeata, Swanz. 



6. D. fumarioides. Swarlz. 



auaa. Fronds multifid, divi.sio s linear; sori terminal on the segments. 



7. P. cluvula, Swarlz. 



