Note 11 — XII.—LEGENDS OF LOCALITY, HOUSEHOLD TALES, &c.

The cocoa-nut tree is also the subject of a fanciful Chinese legend. “The prince Liu Yeh having had a quarrel with Prince Sueh sent a man to assassinate him; this he did while his victim was in a state of intoxication. His head was then suspended on a tree, and it became metamorphosed into a cocoa-nut with two eyes on the shell. Thus the fruit acquired the name of Yueh-wang-tʻou or Prince Yueh’s head.”11 The cocoa-nut is now known as the Ye Tzu, owing, as is alleged, to the fact that during the Ching dynasty princes have been called “Ye.” The fable is not countenanced by the Pen Tsao or native herbal, but is gravely recorded by Chinese authors. It is noteworthy that vessels made of cocoa-nut shell are supposed to betray the presence of poison in the liquids they contain, either ebullition taking place or the vessel bursting. Spoons made of the same material are in Ceylon supposed to possess similar virtues.