AFebrrryP?8a9r6m'}  Kola  and  Kolanin.  99 
longer  have  been  noted.  Independent  of  its  value  for  the  nuts,  kola 
is  an  excellent  shade  and  timber  tree,  and  is  utilized  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  conservative  estimate  of  the  yield  is  120  pounds  of  dried 
nuts,  or  over  250  pounds  of  green  nuts  per  tree,  or  from  8,000  to 
10,000  pounds  per  acre.  No  such  amounts,  however,  are  gathered 
in  any  portion  of  the  West  India  Islands  owing  to  the  unsystematic 
and  haphazard  measures  employed  in  harvesting  the  crop. 
THE  PODS  AND  SEEDS. 
Taking  up  that  part  of  the  plant  probably  of  the  greatest  inter- 
est, the  seeds  or  nuts,  we  may  examine  the  pods,  which  we  will  find 
contain  from  two  to  twelve  nuts  or  seeds,  so  closely  pressed  to- 
gether in  growing  as  to  be  crowded  into  various  shapes.  The  cel- 
lular tissue  of  the  pod  before  drying  is  filled  with  a  very  slimy, 
stringy  mucilage  that  is  largely  absorbed  upon  ripening.  A  singu- 
lar fact  noticed  about  the  seeds  is  the  fact  that  red  and  white  nuts  are 
found  side  by  side  in  the  same  pod.  So  far  as  my  observation  goes, 
pods  may  be  found  that  contain  all  red  or  all  white,  but  no  trees  give 
all  white  or  all  red  seeds.  The  native  users  lay  great  stress  upon 
the  difference  between  the  white  and  red  kola  nuts.  Symbolically, 
the  white  nuts  mean  peace,  happiness,  veneration,  acquiescence  to 
overtures.  The  red  nuts  mean  the  reverse :  war,  ill-will,  challenge, 
rejection  of  overtures,  etc.  In  some  instances  the  white  seeds  com- 
mand the  higher  price,  being  in  repute  as  giving  greater  and  better 
effects.  In  the  dried  nuts  found  in  our  market  it  is  difficult  to  dis- 
tinguish between  the  white  and  red  variety.  Oxidation  during  the 
drying  of  the  seeds  gives  to  both  about  the  same  yellow-brown  color. 
When  subjected  to  the  action  of  solvents,  white  or  red  nuts  (dried)  yield 
to  water,  alcohol,  acetone  or  glacial  acetic  acid,  shades  of  orange  and 
yellow  which  are  slightly  deeper  with  the  red  than  with  the  white 
variety,  but  so  nearly  alike  that  considerable  practice  is  necessary 
to  distinguish  between  them.  The  coloring  matter  of  the  red  nuts  is, 
however,  very  soluble  in  dilute  mineral  acids.  The  white  and  red  va- 
rieties may  be  distinguished  by  macerating  for  twenty-four  hours  in 
dilute  sulphuric  or  hydrochloric  acid,  when  it  will  be  found  that  the 
acid  extraction  of  the  red  kola  is  a  beautiful  red  rose,  while  that  of  the 
white  seeds  is  of  a  light  straw  color.  Heckel  has  shown  that  if  the 
acid  extraction  is  made  alkaline  with  ammonia,  that  from  red  nuts 
assumes  a  purplish  violet  ;  that  from  white  an  ochre-like  color. 
