ry--in one case to the model village of the English Midlands.
It is therefore an exceedingly pleasant round that lies before us in
investigating this subject, as well as one which will afford much
useful knowledge for every-day life.

Before proceeding to a closer acquaintance with the origin of cocoa,
it may be well to clear the ground of possible misconceptions which
occasionally cause confusion.

[Illustration--Drawing: THE COCO-NUT PALM.]

First, there is the word "cocoa" itself, an unfortunate inversion of
the name of the tree from which it is derived, the cacao.[4] A still
more unfortunate corruption is that of "coco-nut" to "cocoa-nut,"
which is altogether inexcusable. In this case it is therefore quite
correct to drop the concluding "a," as the coco-nut has nothing
whatever to do with cocoa or the cacao, being the fruit of a palm[5]
in every way distinct from it, as will be seen from the accompanying
illustration.

[Illustration--Drawing: COCO-DE-MER.]

The name "coco" is also applied to another quite distinct fruit, the
_coco-de-mer_, or "sea-coco," somewhat resembling a coco-nut in its
pod, but weighing about 28 lbs., and likewise growing on a lofty tree;
its habitat is the Seychelles Islands. Sometimes also, confusion
arises between the cacao and the coca or cuca,[6] a small shrub like
a blackthorn, also widely cultivated in Central America, from the
leaves of which the powerful narcotic cocaine is extracted.

[Illustration--Drawing: LEAVES AND FLOWER OF THE CUCA SHRUB.]

In the second place, the name "cocoa," which is strictly applicable
only to the pure ground nib or its concentrated essence, is sometimes
unjustifiably applied to preparations of cocoa with starch, alkali,
sugar, etc., which it would be more correct to describe as "chocolate
powder," chocolate being admittedly a confection of cocoa with other
substances and flavourings.

[Illustration--Black and White Plate: Gathering Cacao: Santa Cruz,
Trinidad.]

"Chocolate" is, therefore, a much wider term than "cocoa,"
embracing both the food and the drink prepared from the cacao, and is
the Mexican name, _chocolatl_, slightly modified, having nothing to do
with the word cacao, in Mexican _cacauatl_.[7] In the New World it was
compounded of cacao, maize, and flavourings to which the Spaniards, on
discovering it, added sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and other ingredients,
such as musk and ambergris, cloves and nutmegs, almonds and
pistachios, anise