The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-26

medicinal use. Grated cocoanut forms an
ingredient OF the East Indian condiment
curry. In the Maldive Islands labor is usu-
ally paid for in cocoanuts.
Tho chief manufactured product de-
rived from the cocOanut Is oil. valued al
: cents a pound by the hogFhead. Most
OF the cocoanut oil consumed In the United
States is manufactured in this country
from imported nuts. II Is valuable in the
making of candles and soaps; II also serves
as a substitute for butter. 1t is used by ma
tives of the Pacific Islands for burning In
lamps. The kernels Of the nuts. broken
and dried. are called "copra." One thou
sand cocoanuts yield 900 pounds OF copra,
from which are obtained twenty-five gal
Ions of oil. A good tree Yields 100 cocoa
nuts annually, worth cents apiece. The
worst foe of the planter is the black rat
which builds its nest in fruiung trees
and destroys the nuts. To protect the
trees against this cncmg, the trunks are
encased in broad sheets Of galvanized
iron.
An attempt is being made to raise the
lVola nut in Florida. This is the nut so
highly valued In Africa. whore IL is used
for chewing and In a decoction. 1t is
rich in the active principal OF coffee. con-
tanning more caffeine than do coffee ber-
ries. 1t also contains a large proportion
three times as much starch as there is
coffee. A paste made from It is con-
sidered by physicians to be most useful
for invalids and persons OF weak dges-
tion. The raw nut is powerful anti
dote for alcohol The natives in parts OF
Africa store the nuts like corn. and those
who have one OF the trees will pay weight
for weight in gold-dust for the nuts.
With the aid Of the kola nut native
Africans make difficult marches and do
laborious work without fatigue. II
serves, in time OF faminine, 10 sustain
their strength without food. The En-
glish consul at Bahia has reported that
the kola enables four negroes to carry
easily the burden ordinarily borne 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 soldiers I'm Germany. These
cakes are known commercially as "ac-
celebrating rations." Each fertile pow r
OF the kola tree may yield ifty-four seeds.
measuring a quart The tree resembles
the chestnut and bears 10 pounds OF NUS
annually.
Many so-called kola wines. extracts,
syrups and tinctures are already on the
market. but they have no value. Their
properties are simply those Of a very
dilute solution Of caffeine plain cup
of coffee is richer in caffeine than these
preparations. If one wishes to make
use Of the kola, he ought TO consume II
exactly as do the African negroes--that
is TO say. by slowly chewing pieces of the
fresh nuts. Dried nuts will not do; they
are an inferior variety Of the kola. Tn
fortunately, they are the only ones used
by chemists. Nothing is easier, when the
medical fraternity chooses TO demand IL,
than TO obtain the fresh nuts from Africa.
at a cost not exceeding 81 per pound. an
to preserve them in this condition for n
long time. Fresh nuts. by reason of their
Characteristic appearance, cannot be adul-
terated: but IL is impossible to distinguish 4
true kolas from fasle ones when they
have been dried.
The cashew nut, though tropical. has
fruited in Southern Florida. II is about
an inch long and kidney shaped, the outer
covering being q shell within a shell. Be
tween the two shells is a. black Juice. The
kernel is oily, pleasant in flavor and
wholesome. This nut IS commonly used
as an article of food in warm latitudes,
being made into buildings, roasted, and in
various ways prepared for table. In this
country 1t has been grown more for a
curiosity than for its value as fruit.
The leechee Is a native Of China. The
tree that bears IL is being tested in several
parts Of Florida, where IL grows we'll It
is apt to suffer severely from frost, how
ever. The fruit is on sale at Chinese shops
IN the big cities. IT is round, with
rough, scale-like. brittle shell. The pulp
Is black and sweetish. with big seed IN
the middle. In selected varieties, the fruit
Is the size Of a hens egg. Another nut
introduced from China, and now growing |
near the coast OF South Carolina and |
Georgia, is the tallow nut. 1t yield per /
cent of tallow and 30 per cent. of oil. suit !
able for lamps.
The betel nut is the seed OF a handsome |
tropical palm. The latter has been intro |
duced into this country, but II will not |
stand the climate. The fruit IS the size |
of a hens egg, reddish-yellow in color !
with thick and hbrous rind enclosing the I
seed This seed or nut Is about as big as /
a nutmeg. conical and brownish on the |
outside. The betel nut Is a great favor |
lite in India, and 1t IS reckoned that 100 |
600 900 people in Asia use 1t, chewing it |
as tobacco is chewed. 1t stimulates the 1
nervous system, like tea or coffee.
The little pistachio nut is sometimes /
called the green almond" 1t was intro
duced here in 1854. and was widely dis
tributed through the southern and mid
die states by the then commi ssioner Of /
patents, Charles Mason. II is said to
be successfully grown On a small scale
in Florida. The trees are. male and r.
male, the sexes being differentiated, AMI
they must be planted together The
fruit, borne on the female trees, grows IN
clusters somewhat ike grapes. The red
dish oval nut is about the size Of an
olive and has an oily green kernel Of
mild and agreeable favor. Il f. used by
confcctioners for nayoring and coiorng
candy. and In France for seasoning sau-
sage. The supply is mainly obtained from