WANDERERS THAT FLOAT. 85 
The cocoaiiut is a seed that is surrounded by a strong 
shell and a thick coat of fiber that protects it from the 
water and also makes it light. 
The nut inside this thick overcoat is hollow when 
ripe, excepting for a watery liquid that we call the milk 
of the cocoaiiut. As we see cocoanuts in stores, the 
outer coat has been taken off. 
Cocoanuts grow near the tops of tall cocoaiiut palms, 
and these palms are fond of standing on the seashore. 
When the nuts get ripe they often fall in the sea and 
are carried long distances by the ocean currents. In 
this way, no doubt, many a coral island has received its 
lovely fringe of cocoaiiut palms. 
The nuts are floated to these little islands and washed 
into crevices on them, where they lodge and in time 
grow into stately trees. 
The cocoanut palm is a very important tree in tropi- 
cal countries. The nuts are used as food, and a valuable 
oil is obtained from them. Cocoa oil is used for illumi- 
nating and also for making salves. 
The thick fiber that surrounds the nut is strong and 
tough and is made into cloth, matting, brushes, baskets, 
coarse rope, and a number of things. Matting is used 
in some hot countries to make the sides of houses, and 
the cocoanut fiber is useful to thatch roofs. 
The wood of the tree is hard and durable and is made 
into many household articles. The hard shell of the 
