1583 
Attalea eoh:;ne (Phdenicaceae ) , 50527. Cohune. Prom 
Celba, Honduras. Seed presented by Mr . Charles N. Wil- 
lard, American consul. "With the demand for combat- 
ing the use of poison gas in the war, it was found 
that the shell of the cohune nut when carbonized , acted 
as a preventive against the injurious effects of the 
gas. It therefore became the principal element used 
in the manufacture of the gas mask. The utilization 
of the cohune nut for war purposes served to bring to 
light an Industry which may be permanent, namely, the 
extraction of oil from the kernel of the nut. The co- 
hune (or corozo) nut is a product of the manaca palm, 
is indigenous to tropical countries, and is found most- 
ly on low, damp lands, along creeks and rivers. It 
thrives best in the deep forests, and the greatest supply 
is found in virgin forest lands, of which there are 
extensive areas in Honduras. 
"The nutsf' grow in large oblong clusters weighing 
probably 75 pounds each. A single tree will have from 
1 to 4 clusters on it at a time with an average pro- 
duction of 4 clusters a year to the tree. The hut va- 
ries In size from 1$ to 3 inches in length and from 
1 to 2 inches in diameter. The shell Is hard and dense , 
with an average thickness of \ to $ inch. For crack- 
- lng the nuts, preparatory to extracting the oil, two va- 
rieties of machines are used. One is designated a 
'knuckle' machine, In which the nuts drop from a hop- 
per between heavy knuckles thus cracking the shell. 
The other is called an 'Impact' machine. It operates 
by a centrifugal motion which propels the nut against 
the side of a large metal bowl with sufficient force 
to break the shell. The oil can then be extracted from 
tnls copra or crushed product. 
"The oil is high grade, and is said to be superior 
to coconut oil; it finds a ready sale for cooking pur- 
poses, the preparation of foods, or any use to which 
a good cooking oil may be put. The Aguan River valley 
contains a single field of these nut-bearing trees ex- 
tending 60 to 70 miles up the river from itsmouthand 
with an average width of 10 to 12 miles." (Willard.) 
Cedrus atlantiea (Plnaceae), 50313. Prom Tangier, 
Morocco. Seed presented by Mr. Jules Goffart> Societe 
d 'Horticulture . This vigorous tree is one of the finest 
of evergreens. It is pyramidal in form and has dense, 
light, silvery foliage. In its native territory, the 
Atlas Mountains of Algeria, it reaches a height of 120 
feet. It thrives splendidly on the Pacific coast of 
the United States and can be grown In a sheltered po- 
sition on the Atlantic coast as far north as New York. 
