Since mankind was shut out from the tree of life, no tree
has so nearly taken its place as the cocoanut palm. It literally
provides meat and drink, and lodgings and implements, for
millions of the human race. The possibilities of its increased
cultivation and extended usefulness are incalculable. The
English Geographer Purchas wrote truly in his Pilgrimage,
three centuries ago:

"But of greater admiration is the Coquo tree, being the
most profitable tree in the world, of which in the Islands of
Maldiau they make and furnish whole ships." The Maldives
might be called the Cocoanut Islands.

The introduction of this most valuable palm into the United
States may prove to be an addition to our food products of
immense importance. As shredded cocoanut in various forms
the nut is an article of luxury with the rich. The poor man
needs only to crack the nut on the curbstone to obtain a nour-
ishing meal already prepared.

The cultivation of this palm in the United States has not
yet passed the experimental stage. There is nowhere reason-
able certainty of a crop except in the extreme south of Florida.
A good tree will produce 100 nuts a year, and continue to do
so for nearly 100 years.

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