The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-03-10
THE TREE.
A Valuable Plant Which Requires
Little Cultivation.

green leaves, which are thirty or
forty feet long, and tlutter and rustic
with every breath of wind.
The |cocoanut grows only near the
shore, where its roots, penetrating
the sandy soil, may drink freely from.
clear underground springs. OF all
trees ii is the most useful 10 man,
furnishing food, shelter and employ
ment to hundreds OF thousands OF the
human race. In tropical countries,
especially in Southern India and Ma
laya, the cocoanut supplies to whole
communities the chief necessities Of
life.
Every part is useful the roots are
considered Il remedy against fevers
from the trunk houses, boats and
furniture are made; the leaves finish
the thatch for houses and the ma
terial from which baskets, hats, mats
and innumerable other articles are
made; the network Of tibres at their
base is used for sleeves and is woven
into cloth; from the young flower
stalks n palm wine, called teddy, is
obtained, from which arrack, u fiery
alcoholic drink, is distilled. The
value of the fruit is well known.
From the husk, which is called coir,
commercially, cordagc, bedding,
mats, brushes and other articles are
manufactured. In the tropics lamps,
drinking vessels and spoons are made
from the hard shells.
The al6umen OF the seed contains
laryo nt,n,,;tfn1 90 Ill ,,.,l Il, tln
East for cooking and i'm illuminating;
in Europe and the United States il is
often made into soap and candles,
yielding after the oil il extracted. IA
refuse valuable as food for cattle. or
as a fertilizer. In some parts OF the
tropics the kernel Of the seed forms
the chief food Of the inhabitants.
The cool, milky fluid which fills the
cavity OF the fruit when the nut is
and the albumen OF the young nut,
which is soft and jelly-like, is nu-
tritious and OF u delicate flavor.
As might be expected i'm the case
OF a plant Of such value. il il often
carefully and extensively cultivated
i'm many countries, and numerous
varieties, differing i'm the size, shape
and quality of the fruit, are now
known. The cocoanut is ~propagated
by seeds; the nuts are sown i'm nur-
sery beds, and at the end Of six or
eight months the seedlings are large
enough to plant. The plants are
usually set twenty-five feet apart
each way i'm carefully prepared beds
filled with rich surface soil. Once
established, II plantation Of cocoanutS
requires little care beyond watering,
which is necessary i'm its early years
to insure IA rapid and vigorous
growth. In good soil the trees usu-
ally begS@to flower al the end Of five
or six years, and may be expected to
be in full bcariDg in from eight TO
twelve years. Thirty nuts from II
tree is considered n fair average yield,
although individual trees have been
known to produce an average of three
hundred nuts during n period Of ten
years. An application Of manure
increases the yield of the trees, al
though probably the value of the adj
ditional crop obtained i'm this way is
hardly large enough TO justify much
expenditure.
I'm recent years the c|ocoanut has
been cultivated on II very large scale
i'm British Honduras, jamaica and
other parts OF Central America. as
well as on the northern coast Of
South America and the West Indies.
The consumption Of c%Ocoanuts i'm the
IT....l G,.,,. L.. l.,. ..... -.
as many as twenty millions being i'm
ported to this country every year.
They are brought largely i'm steamers
with other cargoes, although there
are sailing vessels engaged in this
trade exclusively, and last month
two schooners discharged i'm this
city, respectively, 10000 and POO
600 nuts.
Those which come from San Bias
are considered the, most desirable,
since they shell more easily, while
the meat is richer i'm oil and retains
its flavor longer than others. Those
from Baracoa are larger, but they
lack oil and flavor, and cost less.
After they are unloadcd the nuts are
sorted here and divided into three
grades, according 10 size. The pres
cnt price for select nuts from San
Bias is S2S a thousand, from Ja-
maica S25, and from Baracoa 500.
while the other grades are cores
pondingly lower. The lowest class.
known TO the trade "a eggs bring
only so a thousand.
More than one-half Of all the
cocoanuts imported are bought by
the confectioners. a single firm In
New York using "a many a. 10000 "a
month, and il is possible TO fiji this
large standing order because import
atoms are made all the year round.
or the remainder the large proporti9sr
goes TO the desiccating establish
ments, while only a few are now sold
in the stores in their natural condi-
ton.