Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1895-08-08

WV meaning monkey, be-
.au'e the base resembles a monkeys face.
nc Tree was known to the, poop { Of Ceylon
as early as .6o B. c., the milk being used nv
'"em 1or making cement. The cocoanut Is
one OF the most useful Of plants; roots, trunk
'ea'' sap and nut are made to yield tribute
10 man. The fibre Of the husk furnishes ex.
ee'ieht yarn, and is preferred to horse hair
1of s'afnng beds, cushions, chairs and sad
dies. 1t is stronger and more elastic than
nemp. The Polynesians twist small c,rds Of
'nis hbre, which serves in the construction of
houses and canoes where Europeans would
employ nails. The green nuts are grated for
medicinal use. Grated cocoanut forms an
ingredient of the East Indian condiment
curry. In the Maldive islands labor is usu.
ally paid in cocoanuts.
The chief manufactured product derived
from the cocoanut is oil, valued at , cents a
pound by the hogshead. Most of the cocoa
nut oil consumed in the United States is
manufactured in this country from imported
nuts. 1t is valuable in the making Of can
dies and soaps; it also serves as a substitute
Tor butter. 1t is used by natives of the Pa
cifc islands for burning in lamps. The kerr
nels OF the nuts, broken and dried, are called
"copra." One thousand cocoanuts yield 900
pounds of copra, from which is obtained
twenty five gallons Of oil. A good tree yields
100 nuts annually, worth 4 cents apiece.
The worst foe of the planter is the black rat
which builds its nest in fruiting trees and
destroys the nuts. To protect the trees from
this enemy the trunks are encased in broad
sheets of galvanized iron.
An attempt is being made to raise the kola
nut in Florida. This is the nut so highly
valued in Africa, where it is used for chew
ing and in a decoction. 1T is rich in the
active principle of coffee, containing more
caffeine than do coffee berries. 1t also con-
tains a large portion of the active principal
Of cocoa, and has three times as much starch
as there is in coffee. A paste made from it
is considered by the physicians to be most
useful for invalids and for persons of
weak digestion. The raw nut is a powerful
antidote for alcohol. The natives in parts
of Africa store the nuts like corn, and those
who have one of these trees will poy weight
for weight in gold dust for the nuts.
With the aid of the kola nut native Afri-
cans make difficult marches and do laborious
work without fatisge. 1t serves in time of
famine to sustain their strength without food.
The English consul at Bahia has reported
that abe kola enables four negroes to carry
easily the burden ordinarily born by eight
negroes. 1t IS believed that before long the
nut will be served out to troops in time of
war. Cakes prepared from it, with sugar
and -four, have already been tried on sold
iers in Germany. These cakes are known
commercially as ''accelerating r%ations.'
Each fertile flower of the kola tree may
yield 6fty-four seeds, measuring a quart and
weighing one and one-quarter pounds. The
tree resembles the chestnut and bears $50
pounds of nuts annually,
Many so called kola wines, extracts,
| syrups and t~inctures are already on the mar
ket, but they have no valne. Their proper
ties are simply those of a very dilute solution
Of caffeine. A plain cup of coffee is richer
in caffeine than these preparations, If one
wishes to make use of the kola he ought to
consume 1t the same as do the African ne
groes-that is to say by slowly chewing
pieces of the faesh nuts. Drsed nuts will
uot do; they are valued very little BY the
negroes, and are an inferior variety Of the
kola. Unfortunately they are the only ones
used by the chemists. Nothing is easier,
when the medical fraternity chooses tp de-
and it, team to obtain the fresh uuts from
Africa at a cost not exceeding 81 a pound,
and to preserve them in this condition 4r a
long time. Fresh nuts, by reason OF heir
characteristic appearance, can not be alult-
Grated; but it Is imsossible to distinguish
true kolas from false ones when they have
been dried.
The cashew nut, though tropical, has
fruited in southern Florida. 1t is about an
inch long and ksdney shaped, the outer pv.
ering being a shell within a shell. Between
the two shells is a black juice. The khhel
is oily, pleasant in flavor and wholesale.
This NUTS commonly used as an article OF
food in warm ATTITUDES, being made ito
buildings, roasted, and in vrrious ways re-
paired for table. In this country it has ben
grown more for a curiosity than for its vaie
as a fruit.
The leechee nut is a native of China. The
tree that bears it is being tested in seveal
parts of Florida, where it grows well. lbs
apt to suffer severely from frosts. howevr.
The fruit is on sale in the Chinese shops ia
The big cities. II is round, with a rough, tin
scale and brittle shell. The pulp is sweetia,
with a big seed in the middle. In selectd
varieties the fruit is as large as hens eg.
Another nut introduced from China, ad
now growing near the coast in South Car
ina and Georgia,in the tallow nut, II yiels
s per cent. Of tallow, and 80 per cent. OF q
SUITABLE for lamps.
The betel nut is the seed of a handsoue
.4 re EHH -. -. 49, 49, sAAa