The ripe cocoanut is a valuable article of food just as it is picked from the tree. It contains also a milk which is a nourishing drink. Most of the cocoanut sent to other countries, however, is in a form known as copra.
At the shed the hard shell, which covers the meat, is split open by means of an ax. The meat is removed with a knife and is then spread out on mats to dry. This dried cocoanut is copra.
The inhabitants of these cocoanut islands live in a much more simple style than we do, and the cocoanut tree supplies many of the things that they use daily.
Let us examine the home of a native Samoan. The frame and posts of the house are made of the slender trunks of the cocoanut palm, while the roof is covered with its leaves instead of with shingles. The cups, bowls, dippers, and many other household utensils are made of the shells. If a whole shell is wanted, the "eyes" are pushed in, the milk is used, and ants are allowed to eat the meat. These make excellent water bottles. Baskets, curtains, and twine, are made from the fiber of the leaves, and the bark is used for fuel.
From the copra an oil is pressed which is used in the manufacture of soap. It makes a perfectly white soap that will float on the water. It is also used to furnish light, and the people rub it on their bodies to prevent sunburn. The sap of the tree is made into sugar, vinegar, and a liquor.
While in our country the cocoanut is important chiefly to bakers and confectioners, in these far-away islands it is the most useful of plants, and one of the chief articles of food. Would you not like to visit the cocoanut islands and learn more of their interesting people?
A BUNCH OF BANANAS
Every day, as you walk along the streets you see great bunches of bananas hanging in front of fruit and grocery stores. You find them at the corner fruit stand, and peddlers carry them from house to house.