One of the best known of the palm trees, and which always greets us as we approach the shores of the tropical islands. It flourishes only near the sea; it will grow inland in hot countries, but is unfruitful there. The blossoms are very beautiful. The clusters of blossoms are produced every six weeks during the wet season, and each cluster produces a number of nuts. In planting nuts, the three black spots, or monkey eyes, are set upward, and from one of these eyes the stem emerges. In the tropics the trees live one hundred years, in greenhouses ten to twelve years. The wood is known as porcupine wood. The large leaves are used for clothing and to build huts. They are also used for writing on and for fans, fences, nets, sieves, combs, etc. Of the husks, scrubbing brushes, ropes, and such utensils are made.

The juice extracted from the flowers makes a drink. Fermented it makes palm wine; distilled, it yields arrack, like that obtained from rice. The nuts when green contain quite a quantity of fluid. This is much used as a cooling drink, and the gelatinous mass lining the shells is eaten alone or flavored to suit the taste. If too much of the juice is taken it irritates the urinary organs. It contains sugar, water, gum, oils, soluble and insoluble salts.

What we know as cocoanut is the albumin, etc, deposited on the inside of the shells. It is eaten raw, or dried and prepared as we see it in the market

The chemical analysis is as follows: Water, 3.5; proteids, 6.3; fat, 57.4; carbohydrates, 31.5; ash, 1.3. Fuel value per pound, 3125. Quite a strong combination truly.

There is much oil extracted from the cocoanut, which makes the finest soaps, candles, and such, and for body lubrication it is unsurpassed. The cocoanut is a digester of albumoses, and an active one, from a proteolytic ferment which it contains.