Evening star., 1894-02-12
MOST USEFUL TREE TO MAN.
CocOanut Furnishes Food, Shelter ana
Employment TO ThOusa nds Of People.

COcOanut Furnishes Food. Shelter ana
Employment TO Thousands Of People.
The cocoanut grows only near the Shore
where Its roots penetrating the sandy soil
may drink freely from clear underground
springs. OF all trees IL is regarded By
Garden and Forest as the most useful to
man, furnishing food. shelter and employ
ment TO hundreds Of thousands of the hu-
man race. In tropical countries. especially
in southern India and in Malaga, the CO.
ccanut supplies two whole communities
with the chief necessities of life. Every
part is useful; the roots are considered
a remedy against fevers: from the trunk
houses. boats and furniture are made: the
leaves furnish the thatch for houses and
the material from which baskets, hats.
mats and innumerable other articles are
made; the network of hbers at their base
rs used for sievss and is woven into cloth;
from the young flower stalks a palm wine,
called today, is obtained, from which ar
rak, q fiery alcoholic drink, Is distilled.
The value of the fruit is well known. From
the husks which is called coir. commercially.
cordage, bedding. mats. brushes and other
articles are manufactured. In the tropics.
lamps, drinking vessels and spoons are
made from the hard shells. The albumen
OF the seed contains large quantities of oil.
used In the east for cooking and In illum-
mating; in Europe and the United States it
Is often made into soap and candles, Yield
ing. after the oil is extracted. a refuse val
liable 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 inhab-
itants. The COOL milky fluid which fills the
cavity OF the fruit when the nut In young
affords an agreeable beverage. and the al
bumen of the young nut, which Is soft and
Jelly-like, is nutritious and OF q delicate
flavor.
As might he expected in the case OF q
plant of such value. IL is often carefully and
extensively cultivated in many countries,
and numerous varieties. differing In the
size, shape and quality of the fruit. are now
known. The cocoanut is propagated by
seeds: the nuts are sown In nursery beds,
and at the end OF six eight months the
seedlings are large enough to plant The
plants are usually set twenty-five feet
apart each way In carefully prepared beds
filled with rich surface SOIL Once estab-
lished. a plantation Of cocoanuts requires
little care beyond watering. which is neces-
sary In its early years 10 insure a rapid and
vigorous growth. In good soil the trees
usually begin 10 flower al the end OF hve
or six years. and may be expected to b
in full bearing from eight 70 twelve years.
Thirty nuts from a tree Is considered a fair
average yield. although individual trees
have been known to produce an average OF
300 nuts during a period Of ten years. An
application Of manure Increases the yield
of the trees. although probably the value
of the additional crop obtained In this way
is hardly large enough TO Justify such ex-
penditure In recent years the cocoanut
has been cultivated on a very large scale
I'm British Honduras. Jamaica and other
parts of Central America. well as on
the northern coast of South America and
the West Indies. Cocoanuts bring all the
way from SO to SIS per $1,000. according
to quality.