Barbie Westbrooks, age 10, of East Point, Ga., for her question:

CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE COCONUT?

Nuts are the seeds or fruit of certain plants. They are grown in shells of woody fibers. Almost all nuts are rich in protein and make a delicious and highly concentrated type of food. This is certainly the case with the tropics' contribution to the nut supply, the sweet tasting coconut. It's a nut that is popular around the world.

Coconuts grow in clusters among the leaves of the 40  to 100 foot high coconut palm trees. A smooth, light-colored rind covers each nut and below this is reddish brown husk about two inches thick. A hard, woody shell is under the husk.

Each coconut measures about 12 inches long and about 10 inches across, making this our largest nut. And inside the hard shell is the secret that makes the coconut so popular in every part of the world: it's a ball of crisp, white, sweet tasting meat that surrounds a bit of sugary liquid called coconut milk.

Coconut palms are native to the Pacific Ocean islands of Melanesia and the mainlands of Southeast Asia. But man has now transplanted the tree to almost all tropical and sub tropical parts of the world. Leading producers of coconut today are the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

Trees are planted on plantations now, and the palms are carefully tended much as any valuable agricultural crop. Each tree will bear about 100 coconuts per year, and it will take about one year for the fruit to ripen. Ripe coconuts fall to the ground, although on plantations they are usually cut down every three months or so.

The white, solid meat of the coconut is called copra.

The copra is made up of about 57 percent fat, 32 percent carbohydrates, 6 percent proteins and a bit of water and ash. The valuable oil is used for cooking and also in margarine and soap.

It takes about 6,000 coconuts to make one ton of copra. To ready the product for market, the coconuts are split open and then dried in the sun or in ovens. Some of the nuts are dried by smoking.

Shredded coconut meat adds a special flavor and texture to candy and many other food items. It is also the secret ingredient that makes German chocolate cake so popular.

Coconut husks are also valuable. In the tropics the stiff fibers are woven into mats and ropes and are also used to make brooms.

Leaves from the coconut palm are used for weaving hats and baskets, while homes and even bridges are built with the wood. The sap from the trees is also used to make a sweet drink called tuba as well as an alcoholic beverage.