Coconut

“ Moro eagerly intruded. “The oddest use for a smoothed half of a coconut shell, is to use it as a rat-guard, to shed off rats from our strings of dried fruit hanging from the roof. As the rat comes down the rattan rope, the halved coconut shell tips, and down he falls from its smooth surface, to the floor, and misses the hanging fruit. ”

“ The rough covering of the shell is woven into mats, brushes, ropes, and bags. The fibers of the leaves make a fine cloth. The dried leaves make a roof-thatch. The trunk makes foundation poles. The coconut itself is fruit and drink. When the white meat is dried, it is shredded for pastry and candy. ”

“ Our host’s wife is at work before daylight, scraping into shreds the kernel of a half coconut, and preparing some milk-rice—rice boiled in milk made by squeezing [14] grated coconut in water until the latter assumes the colour of milk.
By sun-rise, the Crows of the village are astir, and the Parrakeets, commonly called “Parrots” in the East, which have been sleeping in the coconut trees, fly away in parties in search of food. ”

“ The coconut industry is far more picturesque; it is chiefly confined to the south side of Vanua Levu and to Taveuni and the other islands. The nut is grown for its kernel, which, when dried, is called copra, and yields the coconut oil which we use for various purposes. The tree grows everywhere in this region, but does not flourish in Viti Levu owing to an insect pest which seems peculiar to that island. The nut has always been much used by the natives for food, but it is now carefully cultivated for the production of copra. ”

“ Through my water glass I watched him put pieces of coconut into his mouth and blow out clouds of the finely chewed stuff, which drifted and eddied about him in the gentle current. He seemed to stay under indefinitely—the lungs of a pearl diver are wonderful things! Now and then he came to the surface for a fresh supply of chum, and finally—at 56 first in twos and threes, and then in shoals—the koperu began to appear from the depths. Little by little he enticed them close to the surface, until they swam all about him fearlessly, gobbling the morsels of coconut. ”

“ The average yield is a quart of oil from a hundred nuts. The oil is said to be superior to coconut-oil, a pint of it giving as much light, or rather burning as long, as a quart of the latter. [51] It is not probable that the manufacture will pay in the presence of the more tractable coconut. As the cohune grows older, the hitherto persistent leaf-stems drop, the scars disappear, and the smooth stem rises thirty to fifty feet clear to the crown of leaves at the summit. ”

“ In some few instances it is obvious that this variability is of later date than culture. The most conspicuous case is that of the coconut. This valuable palm is found on nearly all tropical coasts, in America, as well as in Asia, but in Africa and Australia there are many hundreds of miles of shore line, where it is not found. Its importance is not at all the same everywhere. On the shores and islands of the Indian Ocean and the Malay Archipelago, man is chiefly dependent upon it, but in America it is only of subordinate usefulness. ”

“ De Candolle claimed an Asiatic origin for the whole species, while Cook's studies go to prove that its original habitat is to be sought in the northern countries of South America. Numerous [85] varieties are growing in Asia and have as yet not been observed to occur in America, where the coconut is only of subordinate importance, being one of many useful plants, and not the only one relied upon by the natives for their subsistence. ”

“ Most coconuts are bitter when young (pútut) , but there are varieties which have edible insides at this stage. 2 a variety of coconut with orange-colored outside husk, smaller in size than the ordinary coconut.
kuyámud v [A; c1] get an expression of distaste or dislike on the face. Mikuyámud siya sa aslum nga sambag, She puckered her face at the sour tamarind. Ayaw ug kuyamúra (ikuyámud) ang ímung nawung ug sugúun ka, Don’t get a nasty expression on your face when I tell you to do s.t. ”

“ To the stiffly beaten egg whites slowly add the first cup of syrup—then the remaining syrup—beating constantly. Flavor with one teaspoon vanilla and when beating becomes difficult add the coconut from which all milk has been thoroughly pressed. When the mass can no longer be stirred, form in a loaf—turn out on oiled paper and stand aside until cold. ”

“ Coconuts grew perpetually. There will often be six growths in a single palm. So proas loaded with nuts were always landing on the beach. The Tigress went prowling for nut, too. Once, both Ruth and Spurlock accompanied McClintock far south, to an island of blacks; and Spurlock had his first experience with the coconut dance and the booming of wooden tom-toms. ”

“ There is already a larger area under the coconut palm in this form than under tea, and the coconut as a commercial product increases steadily in importance. It is interesting to note that it is the wealthier natives and not the foreign planters who are mainly responsible for the development of this profitable business. In the northern part of the island we find another species of palm 23 tree, the palmyra. This palm is almost as important to the Tamils who inhabit the district as the coconut is to the Sinhalese further south. ”

“ On these low-lying islands the coconut palms thrive well and bear abundantly, for there is nothing to impede the passage of the strong salt breeze right across the level surface of the Haapaian group, and without this strong salt air the coconut cannot thrive. ”

“ In a word any degree of variability afforded by nature must have been noticed and cultivated.
More than fifty different sorts of the coconut are described from the Indian shores and islands, with distinct local and botanical names. Miquel, who was one of the best systematists of tropical plants, of the last century, described a large number of them, and since, more have been added. Nearly all useful qualities vary in a higher or lesser degree in the different varieties. ”

“ The coconut is a cultivated tree. It may be met with in some spots distant from human dwellings, but whenever such cases have been subjected to a closer scrutiny, it appears that evidently, or at least probably, huts had formerly existed in their neighborhood, but having been destroyed by some accident, had left the palm trees uninjured. Even in South America, where it may be found in forests at great distances from the sea-shore, it is not at all certain that true native localities occur, and it seems to be quite lost in its natural condition. ”

“ They grow rapidly and in about a year they have attained their full dimensions. As the coconut matures, the outer envelope begins to turn brown and to shrink. With the shrinkage the well-known, roughly triangular shape of the fruit becomes emphasized.
A full-sized fruit cluster consists of twelve to twenty coconuts. The flowering continues the year around and a tree in prime condition yields upwards of 100 fruits annually, distributed over four or five harvests. The record in the Philippines is 470 nuts from a tree.
The leaves of the coco palm are attached directly to the main stem. ”

“ The only obvious reason is the assumption already made, that the distribution was brought about by man, and thus only affected the species, chosen by him for cultivation. That the coconut cannot have been imported from Asia into America seems to be the most obvious conclusion from the arguments given. ”

“ The coconut-tree grows everywhere. In the canoes we saw abundance of sugarcane in pieces two feet in length and an inch in thickness, and the natives brought off to us bananas, breadfruit, mangoes, and prepared arrowroot. To a certain extent also the natives feed upon fish, judging from the nets and fishing-spears seen among them. The former, although frequently thirty or forty feet in length, did not exceed eighteen inches in depth--they have small meshes, thin triangular wooden floats, and shells at the bottom as sinkers. ”

“ For a long time the people were afraid to approach the tree or to taste the nuts, because they had grown out of a human head, and so, by the falling of the ripe fruit, there grew up a dense grove of coconut palms. ”

“ Thus far coconut cultivation has been conducted in a very haphazard way. In fact, the existing groves are hardly cultivated at all. Nuts or young trees are put into the ground in whatever fashion seems good to the individual planter, and are invariably set too closely. There may be a little initial cultivation, but usually nothing is done except to cut down weeds and brush with a bolo, and often even this is neglected. ”

“ Fil’s father, who was a planter of wide acres, replied:
“The cocoa bean and the coconut are two very different plants. Do not confuse them. The cocoa bean, out of which you grind cocoa powder and chocolate for a drink, for bonbons, and for puddings, comes out of a fruit shaped like a large red cucumber. This fruit grows on a tender bush, which must be shaded by a thick banana palm. In each fruit are twenty of these seeds, or cocoa beans.
“They have hard skins, and are very bitter and stimulating. When eaten, they excite the heart, and thus make a person feel active and alive. ”

“ The fleshy mesocarp of the fruit of Elaeis guineensis of western tropical Africa yields, when crushed and boiled, " palm oil." Coco-nut oil is extracted from the oily endosperm of the coconut. Wax is exuded from the stem of Ceroxylon andicola and Copernicia cerifera. A variety of " dragon's blood, " a resin, is procured from Daemonorops Draco and other species. Edible fruits are yielded by the date, the staple food of some districts of northern Africa. The coco-nut is a source of wealth to its possessors; and many of the species, e.g. ”

“ Concluding we may state that according to the whole evidence as it has been discussed by De Candolle and especially by Cook, the coconut-palm is of American origin and has been distributed as a cultivated tree by man through the whole of its wide range. This must have happened in a prehistoric era, thus affording time enough for the subsequent development of the fifty and more known varieties. But the possibility that at least some of them have originated before culture and have been deliberately chosen by man for distribution, of course remains unsettled. ”

“ Then, if it is in the far southern seas, a drifting coconut may lodge there and be rolled high enough to be left to strike its roots into the sand and begin the grove that by and by will make the islet attractive to men. ”

“ Wà ku makabungul sa ímung gisulti, I didn’t hear what you were saying. 3 [B1; b6] for instruments or money to be, become unresonant. — nga lubi a coconut at the stage just prior to ripening where the fruit is still so full of water it does not produce a sound when you shake it. (←) [A123PC; b (1) ] not to be on speaking terms.
bungul2 n unopened flower bud of a coconut. Ang dugà sa bungul mauy himúung tubà, The sap of the coconut bud is what is made into palm toddy. paN- v [A; b6] for coconuts to develop flower buds.
bungul3 n k.o. shark (pating) . ”

“ Make 1 pint custard with some new milk, 4 well beaten eggs, a little nutmeg, 1 tablespoonful loaf sugar; stir in gradually a small glass of brandy, adding the coconut by degrees. When well mixed, fill a pie dish, that has been lined with puff paste with the mixture, bake in a gentle oven; about 20 minutes will suffice.
Coconut Soup.—3 pints prepared stock, the kernels of 2 large coconuts, yolks of 2 eggs, juice of a lemon, 2 blades of mace, 1 saltspoonful ground cinnamon, salt and white pepper to taste, a little corn or rice flour. ”

“ We had several ideas about that time, but having so little chink always stood in the way.
This was the case with H. O.‘s idea of setting up a coconut-shy on this side of the Heath, where there are none generally. We had no sticks or wooden balls, and the greengrocer said he could not book so many as twelve dozen coconuts without Mr Bastable’s written order. ”

“ A strong and very pure spirit is distilled from it, which has its devotees, but the rustic, as a rule, prefers quantity to quality. We are often told that the British Government taught the people of India to drink, but the scene that I have tried to describe is indigenous conviviality, much older than any European connection with the country.
Is it any wonder that the coconut has become an emblem of fertility and prosperity and all good luck? When a new house is building you will see a high pole over the doorway, bearing coconuts at the top, with an umbrella spread over them. ”

“ The thick husk of the coconut resists harm from sea water, near which this palm prefers to grow in just such a sandy, shelly soil as the uprising reef affords. The nuts that so often fall into the surf or are carried out by rivers make long voyages without losing their vitality. Here, again, the situation of most coral islets in the course of currents is advantageous, for thus not only these nuts but other useful seeds and colonizing elements drift directly to their doors, as it were. ”

“ Large coco palm plantations often twenty to 100,000 acres in extent, are being established in various parts of the world to keep pace with the demand which is increasing with the decline in the supply of animal fats. The coconut supply to the United States has hitherto come chiefly from the American tropics, Central America, Colombia, Brazil, and the West Indies. The trees in this region are lately threatened by a fungus disease, the so-called "bud-rot," which has gained a foot-hold. ”

“ A he mea kaulana no ia i ka waha o na keiki oia wa, ua pane ae lakou penei: “Aole e loaa na niu a Kane ia oe.” A pela iho la ke ano eepa o keia laau he niu.
Here are the values of the coconut: its fruit is very palatable; it is made into sweet potato pudding, taro pudding or starch pudding. That was the way the old people used it. It was, however, kapu; only men could eat it. Coconuts were also offered in temples so that the gods might be propitiated.
Eia na mea waiwai o keia laau o ka niu. He ono loa kona hua, ua hana koele palau ia, a kulolo paha, a i ole ia he haupia. ”