297 



Edible Products. 



Not until the nut has reached its maximum size, with its shell completed, 

 is there any indication of meat or of oily material. When the shell has been 

 formed the milk changes in character, it becomes rather sweet, and a slimy ? 

 gelatinous mass, having a sweetish taste and containing comparatively little oil 

 begins to deposit on the inside of the former. At first this forms chiefly on the 

 lower half of the nut, but finally it covers the whole inner surface. This pidpy 

 mass soon grows thicker and denser, it increases in oil content at the expense of 

 sugar in the milk, until it assumes the well-known characteristics of ordinary 

 coconut meat. During this last stage the evolution of carbon dioxide which 

 previously was mentioned occurs. 



Even in ripe nuts, after they have been picked from the tree, there seems 

 to be a slight continuation of the hardening process in the meat, covering a 

 period of from two to three months, or until the sprout makes its appearance. Then 

 other changes occur, the reverse of those which had taken place previously ; the 

 nourishment concentrated and stored up as fat is now transformed into sugars and 

 other bodies capable of being directly assimilated by the young plant. As this 

 process goes on the embryo or " foot " gradually increases in size until it occupies 

 the whole space inside the nut and makes use of all the nourishment contained 

 therein for the growth of the young tree. 



Therefore, for the largest yield of copra and oil, only thoroughly ripe 

 nuts (the husks of which have begun to turn brown) should be used, and it is often 

 advisable to allow the latter to stand in a dry place for a few weeks before 

 they are opened. The greatest care should be taken to avoid using green nuts, 

 as it is shown by the tables given above that a loss of almost 50 per cent may 

 thus result. 



On the other hand, coconuts should not be stored too long, for in about 

 three months the embryo begins to grow, and, even before that time, those 

 nuts which may have been cracked or bruised in gathering, have a tendency 

 to become rancid. — Philippine Journal of Science. 



