coco. 
135 
lower ones only pistils. So we might say that 
there is a cluster of male flowers above, and another 
of female flowers below. There are, however, no 
petals and no sepals. (See picture on page 52.) 
6. The coco is a handsome plant, with its grace- 
ful heart-shaped leaves raised high on long stalks. 
These form capital food for cattle and pigs, or the 
young leaves may be boiled for our own use. But 
it is, of course, for the sake of its tubers that we 
cultivate the plant, for in them lies a large supply 
of starchy food, which it has stored up in such 
abundance that the tubers often weigh several 
pounds. 
7 . The coco has been found very useful as a shades 
plant, to protect the seedlings of some of our crops 
from the wind or sun. 
To rear young plants it is only necessary to cut 
olf the head of the root-stock and bury it in the 
ground, as is done in raising yams. From the head 
a number of young plants shoot forth, which may 
then be separated and planted about a yard apart, 
in land that has been well dug or ploughed. 
8. A sandy loam is the soil that suits cocoes best, 
especially if the remains of decayed plants are 
plentiful in it. The tubers are yielded in such 
abundance that nearly a bushel of them may often 
be obtained from one head. 
