, firewood, &c.; the leaves are
plaited into cajan fans and baskets, and used for thatching the roofs of
houses; the shell of the nut is employed as a water-vessel; and the
external husk or rind yields the coir fibre, with which are fabricated
ropes, cordage, brushes, &c. The coco-nut palm also furnishes very
important articles of external commerce, of which the principal is
coco-nut oil. It is obtained by pressure or boiling from the kernels,
which are first broken up into small pieces and dried in the sun, when
they are known as copperah or _copra_. It is estimated that 1000
full-sized nuts will yield upwards of 500 lb. of copra, from which 25
gallons of oil should be obtained. The oil is a white solid substance at
ordinary temperatures, with a peculiar, rather disagreeable odour, from
the volatile fatty acids it contains, and a mild taste. Under pressure
it separates into a liquid and a solid portion, the latter,
coco-stearin, being extensively used in the manufacture of candles.
Coco-nut oil is also used in the manufacture of marine soap, which forms
a lather with sea-water. Coir is also an important article of commerce,
being in large demand for the manufacture of coarse brushes, door mats
and woven coir-matting for lobbies and passages. A considerable quantity
of fresh nuts is imported, chiefly from the West Indies, into Britain
and other countries; they are familiar as the reward of the popular
English amusement of "throwing at the coco-nuts"; and the contents are
either eaten raw or used as material for cakes, &c., or sweetmeats
("coker-nut").

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The spelling "cocoa-nut," which introduces a confusion with cocoa
(q.v.) or cacao, is a corruption of the original Portuguese form,
dating from (and largely due to) Johnson's _Dictionary_. The spelling
"coker-nut," introduced to avoid the same ambiguity, is common in
England.

COCYTUS (mod. _Vuvo_), a tributary of the Acheron, a river of Thesprotia
(mod. _pashalik_ of Iannina), which flows into the Ionian Sea about 20
m. N. of the Gulf of Arta. The name is also applied in Greek mythology
to a tributary of the Acheron or of the Styx, a river in Hades. The
etymology suggested is from [Greek: kokuein], to wail, in allusion to
the cries of the dead. Virgil describes it as the river which surrounds
the underworld (_Aen._ vi. 132).

COD, the name given to the typical fish of the family _Gadidae_, of the
Teleostean suborder Ana