It is tall and straight, without branches, and generally about thirty
or forty feet high; at the top are twelve leaves, ten feet long, and
half a foot broad; above the leaves, grows a large excrescence in the
form of a cabbage, excellent to eat, but taking it off kills the tree.
The cocoa is a species of Palm.


Is not the Indian liquor called Toddy, produced from the Cocoa Tree?

Yes, between the leaves and the top arise several shoots about the
thickness of a man's arm, which, when cut, distil a white, sweet,
and agreeable liquor; while this liquor exudes, the tree yields no
fruit; but when the shoots are allowed to grow, it puts out a large
cluster or branch, on which the cocoa nuts hang, to the number of ten
or twelve.

_Distil_, to let fall in drops.

_Exude_, to force or throw out.

[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL OF MILAN, ITALY.]


How often does this tree produce nuts?

Three times a year, the nuts being about the size of a man's head, and
of an oval form.


Of what countries is it a native?