THE COCOA-NUT TREE. 
6t 
pith, after wliicli it is beaten to pieces uutil tlie fibres 
have completely separated, and ultimately dried in tlie 
.Bun. Hopes made of coir, though not so neat in appear- 
ance as hempen cords, are superior in lightness, and 
exceed them in durability, particularly if wetted fre- 
quently by salt water. From their elasticity and strength 
they are exceedingly valuable for cables. Besides cordage 
of every calibre, beds, cushions, caqiets, brushes, and 
nets are niauufactured from the filaments of the cocoa- 
nut husk, while the hard shell is fashioned into drinking- 
cups, spoons, beadsj Iwttles, and knife-liandles. From 
the spathes of the unopened flowers a delicious "toddy'* 
is drawHj which, drunk at sunrise before fermentation 
lias taken place, acta as a cooling gentle aperient, but 
in a few hours changes into an intoxicating wine, and 
may either be distilled into ari-ack — the only pernicious 
purpose to which the gifls of the bounteous tree are per- 
verted — or soured into vinegar, or inspissated by boiling 
into sugar. 
The strong tough foot-stalka of the fronds, which 
attain a length of from eighteen to twenty feet, are 
used for fences, for yokes, for carr}ang burthens on tlie 
shoulders, for iishing-rods ; the leaflets serve for roofing, 
for mats, for baskets, for cattle- fodder ; and their midribs 
form good brooms I'or the decks of ships. Cooked or 
stewed, the cabbage or cluster of nnexpanded leaves is 
an excellent vegetable, though rarely used, as it neces* 
RQi-ily involves the destruction of the tree ; and even the 
tough web or network, which sustains the foot-stalks of 
the leaves, may be stripped off in large pieces and used 
for straining. 
After the cocoa-nut tree has ceased to bear, its wood 
serves for many valuable purposes — for the bnilding 
of ships, bungalows, and huts, for furniture and farming 
implements of every description. 
when we consider the numerous gifls conferred upon 
mankind by this inestimable tree, we cannot wonder at 
