The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

COCONUT

Coconut (formerly Cocoa-nut, or coco-nut), IS a woody fruit of an oval shape, from 7 or 10 to 15 or 20 cm in length, covered with a fibrous husk, and lined internally with a white, firm, and fleshy kernel. The tree (Cocos nucifera) which produces the coconut is a palm, from 12 to 18 metres high. The trunk is straight and naked, and surmounted by a crown of feather-like leaves. The nuts hang from the summit of the tree in clusters of a dozen or more together. The external rind of the nuts has a smooth surface. This encloses an extremely fibrous substance, of considerable thickness, which immediately surrounds the nut. The latter has a thick and hard shell, with three black scars at one end, through one of which the embryo of the future tree pushes its way. This scar may be pierced with a pin; the others are as hard as the rest of the shell. The kernel encloses a considerable quantity of sweet and watery liquid, of a whitish colour, which has the name of milk.

This palm is a native of Africa, the East and West Indies, and South America, and is now grown almost everywhere in tropical countries. Food, clothing, and the means of shelter and protection are all afforded by the coconut tree. The kernels are used as food in various modes of dressing, and yield on pressure an oil which is largely imported into various countries. When dried before the oil is expressed they are known as copra. The fibrous coat of the nut is made into the well-known coconut matting; the coarse yarn obtained from it is called coir, which is also used for cordage. The hard shell of the nut is polished and made into a cup or other domestic utensil. The fronds are wrought into baskets, brooms, mats, sacks, and many other useful articles; the trunks are made into boats or furnish timber for the construction of houses.

By boring the tree a white sweetish liquor called toddy exudes from the wound, and yields by distillation one of the varieties of the spirit called arack. A kind of sugar called jaggery is also obtained from the juice by inspissation.
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