HEXANDRIA.
233. The COCOA-NUT is a woody fruit, produced in nearly all the countries of hot climates; of oval shape, from three or four, to six or eight inches in length, covered with a fibrous husk, and lined internally with a white, firm, and fleshy kernel.
The tree (Cocos nucifera) which produces the cocoa-nut is a kind of palm, from forty to sixty feet high. It has, on its summit only, a kind of leaves, which appear almost like immense feathers, each fourteen or fifteen feet long, three feet broad, and winged. Of these the upper ones are erect, the middle ones horizontal, and the lower ones drooping. The trunk is straight, naked, and marked with the scars of the fallen leaves. The nuts hang down from the summit of the tree, in clusters of a dozen or more together.
The external rind of the cocoa-nut has a smooth surface, and is of somewhat triangular shape. This encloses an extremely fibrous substance of considerable thickness, which immediately surrounds the nut. The latter has a thick and hard shell, with three holes at the base, each closed by a black membrane. The kernel lines the shell; and is sometimes nearly an inch in thickness, and encloses a considerable quantity of watery liquid, of whitish colour, which has the name of milk.
Food, clothing, and the means of shelter and protection, are all afforded by the cocoa-nut-tree. The kernels of the nuts, which somewhat resemble the filbert in taste, but are of much firmer consistence, are used as food in various modes of dressing, and sometimes are cut into pieces and dried. When pressed in a mill, they yield an oil, which, in some countries, is the only oil used at table; and which, when fresh, is equal in quality to that of almonds. It, however, soon becomes rancid, and, in this state, is principally used by painters. The Indians prepare an oil from cocoa-nuts, by steeping the kernels in water till they putrefy, and then boiling the pulp. In this operation the oil rises to the surface, and is skimmed off. This oil is used for anointing the hair, in cookery, for burning in lamps, and for various other purposes. The milk, or fluid, contained in the nuts, is an exceedingly cool and agreeable beverage, which, when good, somewhat resembles the kernel in flavour.
Cocoa-nut-trees flourish best in a sandy soil, and first produce fruit when six or seven years old; after which each tree yields from fifty to a hundred nuts annually.
The fibrous coats or husks which envelope the cocoa-nuts, after they have been soaked for some time in water, become soft. They are then beaten, to free them from the other substances with which they are intermixed, and which fall away like saw-dust, the stringy part only being left. This is spun into long yarns, woven into sail-cloth, and twisted into ropes and cables, even for large vessels. The cordage thus manufactured is valuable in several respects, but particularly for the advantages that are derived from its floating in water. The woody shells of the nut are so hard as to be capable of receiving a high polish; and they are formed into drinking cups, and other domestic utensils, which are sometimes expensively mounted in silver.
On the summit of the cocoa-nut-tree the tender leaves, at their first springing up, are folded over each other, so as somewhat to resemble a cabbage. These are occasionally eaten in place of culinary greens, and are a very delicious food; but, as they can only be obtained by the destruction of the tree that produces them, and which dies in consequence of their being removed, they are considered too expensive a treat for frequent use. The larger leaves are employed for the thatching of buildings, and are wrought into baskets, brooms, mats, sacks, hammocks, and many other useful articles.
The trunks are made into boats, and sometimes constitute timber for the construction of houses; and, when their central pith is cleared away, they form excellent gutters for the conveyance of water. If, whilst growing, the body of the tree be bored, a white and sweetish liquor exudes from the wound, which has the name of toddy. This is collected in vessels of earthen-ware, and is a favourite beverage in many countries where the trees grow. When fresh it is very sweet; in a few hours it becomes somewhat acid, and, in this state, is peculiarly agreeable; but in the space of twenty-four hours it is complete vinegar. By distillation this liquor yields an ardent spirit, which is sometimes called rack, or arrack; and is more esteemed than that obtained by distillation from rice or sugar, and merely fermented and flavoured with the cocoa-nut juice. If boiled with quick-lime, it thickens into a syrup, which is used by confectioners in the East Indies, though it is much inferior to syrup produced from the sugarcane.