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Show THE. BIG COCOA PALM. Grow In 8alty Soil, Defying Hurricanes Hurri-canes of the Tropics. Tho cocoanut means a groat deal to tho "Yost Indian negro, says Country Life. A dark-skinned man ran lightly up tho tall atom, with suspiciously prehcnsllo foet, stopping at tho fruit cluster to select and pull off a great nut, which ho tossed to tho ground. I examined It with curiosity, cu-riosity, for it was littlo enough llko tho cocoanut cf tho stores In tho north. A smooth green covering, hard, Impervious to anything but a heavy knifo no wonder tho cocoa palm spreads among theso Islands! Boat-shaped, in a sense; light enough to float easily, the big seed Is always ready for a aoa voyago. Cast ashoro on a sandy beach, It quickly germin ates and holds fast In tho Baity soil, soon growing to its estate of beauty and frultfulness and able to defy tho hurricanes of tho tropics. Itestful as woro tho isolatod cocoa palms, It was not until 1 enmo upon a real grovo of them that I could fully appreclato tho tropical latitude. A visit to "Cfusoo boach," fringed by tho great palms, hanging full of heavy nutBt with Hborty to wander whoro tho sandy ground It was winter, mind' you! was covered, not with fallen leaves of oak and beech, but with great fronds olght or ten foot long drooped from tho cloan-stemmetf giants with fcathor-dustor heads this took away tho last memory of tho ice-bound and coal-smoked north. |
