Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-04-15

] mel. Take that out and strip off the out
side, and You have spicy mace. Of you
don't know what that is, 60 and ask the
cook to show you some). Under the
mace is another shell, and within that
the nutmeg, as you see it in mammals
spice-box.
Some years ago the Dutch owned an
island filed with nutmeg trees, and, fear
ing they would become cheap, they tried
to confne them to the island. But, In
spite of all their precautions, they would
spread in other countries and who do
you think did the mischief None other
than the large pigeons of the island,
which ate the fruit. The outside and the
mace digested but the inner shell, with
its nutmeg or seed, did not sit so well on
the birds stomachs, and SO they threw
them up, and the scattered seeds took
root and grew.
Nutmegs are not the only nut planted
in this droll way. Our squirrels plant
thousands Of nuts every year. Not that
they actually set ont to plant nuts for us;
but they hide them for their own use,
and many thus hidden are forgotten or
not needed, and grow. Birds also plant
many nuts and seeds. One bird, the
nut-hatch, gets his name from his per-
! Torrance with nuts. He is especially
/ fond of hazel nuts and how would you
suppose he would manage to crack them?
His bill is not strong enough to shell
them as your canary shells his seeds !;
and he can't gnaw them with teeth, like
the squirrel; so he fixes one into hole
or crack in the bark of a tree, and then
hammers away with his bill till he cracks
/ it. The name nut-hatch means to chop
a nut" And, besides eating many fresh,
| he bIlrries some for future use.
Then there is what we call a vegetable
ivory, the kernel of a nut of Peruvian
palm tree, soft at first and readily cut
into any shape, but growing hard and
firm as ivory ; and an African oil-palm
nut, which is wholly made into oil Called
palm OLD for soap and candles. The
| Africans use this oil when fresh instead
of butter. There is another African nut,
which is used in tanning and making
ink.
Perhaps the most valuable nut in the
world is the cocoanut. Did you ever
see one with its husk on2 You would
never recognize it if you have not; for it
looks as much like an old brown wrinkled
squash as anything, and is more than
twice as large as the nut as you usually
see it.
Well as it is packed up, however,
| there's one curious little fellow living
where cocoanut trees grow who lives on
it and will scarcely eat anything else. 1t
is crab, and, though he is little COM
pared with man, he is a monster of a
crab, two feet high, and called the Rob-
Der Crab. A strange looking object he
is, promenading on the tips of his toes
and brandishing his ferocious-looking
claws in the air. When he wants a
cocoanut, some writer's say that he
can climb the trees to get them. But
crabs are not much given to climbing
and perhaps it VII hardly do to believe
that. However, he gets one someway,
and with his strong claws he tears off the
strong husks, till he reaches the nut,
when he digs one claw into one of the
soft spots or eyes at one end of the nut,
and by twisting it around in the hole
manages to dig out the meat. Some
writer's who have seen them also say that
Robber Crab will stick a claw into one
of these holes and pound the nut down
on a stone till it breaks open. Others
say that, after tearing off the husks, he
climbs the tree with it, and lets it drop
to the ground and break, when he comes
down and eats it. Possibly he uses all
these means, and, at any rate, he man.
ages to get enough out of their hard
shells to live ON.
Let me tell you some of the uses OF
this nut, not to mention the tree, which
provides food and drink, house and
clothes, and, indeed, every necessity %
life to the people who live under them.
The nut is used, first, to eat. Millions
upon millions are sent away every yeal
to all heworld, to be eaten. They are
pressed to get out the oil, which is val
liable, and the leavings are fed to poul
try. The outside husk is used fol-
making ropes, to stuff mattresses, te
make brushes and brooms, fancy bas
kets, table-mats, church cushions and
hassocks, clothes-ines, horses nose
bags, and ladies' bonnets. The shell il
made into cups, baskets, ladies ano
spoons, bowls, jars, dishes, measures
and paint-pots. All this is done IL