APPENDIX.

THE COCOA-NUT TREE.

(See Page 405, Vol. i.)

“The Indian’s nut aloneIs clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can,Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one.”

“The Indian’s nut alone

Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can,

Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one.”

Of all the trees, beautiful either in form, height, or the splendid colour of their flowers, so profusely scattered over the face of nature in tropical climes, perhaps none has excited more interest, both for its elegant and majestic growth, as well as for its utility, than this palm, producing fruit, shade, utensils, and numerous other articles, to supply the wants of mankind. These palms impart a grandeur to the tropical landscape; their stems, towering to a great elevation, are crowned at the summit by elegant fronds of gigantic character; they overtopthe more diminutive trees, and excite the admiration of the traveller by their elegant and novel appearance, decorating the sea-coasts of large continents, and waving their dark plumes over the insignificant coral-reefs. The cylindrical rough trunk[99]towers to an elevation of one hundred feet, and the terminating crown of feathered fronds gives to them an elegant appearance, more so when seen loaded with fruit in all its different stages, from the first bursting of the spathe displaying the delicate white fruit and minute flowers, to the huge, fully mature nut, in bunches of from twenty to thirty, or more, the ponderous burthen appearing to be suspended on a very fragile stalk.

The fecundity of the palms is surprising; a single spathe of the date is said to contain about twelve thousand male flowers;Alfonsia amygdalinahas been computed to have two hundred and seven thousand in a spathe, or six hundred thousand upon a single individual, while every bunch of the Seje-palm of the Orinoco bears eight thousand fruit.[100]On the cocoa-palm, frequently two or three hundred nuts may beseen at one time, yielding an inexhaustible supply for the use of man at all seasons of the year.

This palm delights in, and grows with the greatest luxuriance in the vicinity of the sea, and is found in great perfection on the south and west coasts of Ceylon; (giving a beautiful appearance to those coasts;) those of Malabar and Coromandel, on the Maldive and Laccadive Islands; those of Polynesia, where it adorns the small coral islands, as well as those of magnitude, glowing in all the brilliancy and beauty of tropical scenery. At Penang and Singapore I remarked these palms to be comparatively unproductive, and they are rarely seen cultivated to any extent.

The Singalese have a curious tradition regarding the original discovery of the cocoa-nut tree, by a prince of the interior of the island of Ceylon. About half-a-mile from Belligam, (a fishing hamlet on the southern coast of Ceylon, situated between the towns of Point de Galle and Matura, in about 80° 20′ east longitude, and 5° 30′ north latitude,) completely concealed from view, whether approached by land or sea, by the density of the cocoa-nut groves, is a large rock of granite, to the left-hand on the road to Galle, which at that particular spot is completelyovershadowed by umbrageousJack,[101]Kettule,[102]and cocoa-nut trees, and which displays the gigantic representation of a former prince of the interior, called “Kottah Rajah,” to the attention of the traveller.

The figure, about sixteen or eighteen feet in height, is sculptured in the solid rock; and, according to the Singalese tradition, the original discovery of the cocoa-nut tree is attributed to a vision, which first communicated to this highly-favoured rajah a knowledge of that principal of all vegetable productions, which omnipotent wisdom and munificence has so liberally bestowed upon the sable portion of mankind.

A Singalese king, or sovereign prince, as the term “rajah” implies, of devout conduct and character, became suddenly afflicted with a cutaneous disease, which covered him with a white scaly substance from head to foot, to so great a degree as almost to deprive him of human appearance: so very rapidly did the loathsome distemper extend its malignant influence over the rajah’s person, that sacrifices were resorted to by his people, in the hope of thereby appeasing the anger of the supposedauthor of the rajah’s sufferings, the Maha Yaka, or great demon.

The Kottah rajah (theimageitself is now so styled) objected to assist in person at any such diabolical sacrifices, and however prejudiced his people were in the belief of their eventual efficacy, he himself preferred humbly to submit to the decrees of that superior power from whom alone the Maha Yaka could have derived dominion, if he really possessed any, over the destinies of mankind. At this period, the cocoa-nut tree was not known in the interior of Ceylon; and to this day its scarcity is remarked by every traveller who visits the interior of the late Kandyan territory.

The resigned, but suffering rajah, having, with all due humility, paid his accustomed devotions, and offered sweet-smelling flowers, according to the Budhoo religion,[103]and repeated the Budha-Sarana,[104]fell into a sound sleep, which lasted for several days. During histrance, he beheld a large expanse of water, which he tasted, and found it both salt and nauseous, although of a fine green[105]colour near, and blue in the distance; having on its margin immense groves of trees of a rare kind, such as he had never before seen; for, instead of branches in various directions, as other trees had in his country, a tuft of large leaves, as they then appeared to him to be, crowned the lofty summit of each individual tree, which, to an immense height, was totally divested of branches or foliage.—This tradition is believed by many eminent Tirinanses, or high priests, of Budhoo, who attach to it great antiquity.

The Kottah rajah, having awakened from his trance, felt his mind deeply impressed with the unusual nature of his dreams; but, in the natural excitement which the hope of his recovery encouraged, he renewed his oblations and prayers, believing that a display of omnipotent mercy would be the result. A Cobra de capello, the Naya of the Singalese, (Coluber naja, Linn.) and sacred snake of the Budhists, shortly afterwards approached, and, having expanded its spectacle-marked hood, raised its head a cubit above the ground, and observed the rajahsteadily for some moments; after which, the animal, extending its blue forked tongue, and thrice bowing its head, lapped water from the leaf in which it had been reserved for the rajah’s particular use. Having thrice repeated the draught, the animal, still keeping its eyes fixed on the rajah, gradually retired to the jungle. This was conviction itself of Budhoo’s[106]favour.

Again the prince felt his eyelids grow weary; but, in his then state of disease, he had determined to occupy no place of shelter save that which the shady Bogaha, (Ficus religiosa,) the tree under which he reposed, afforded him. No sooner had sleep a second time exerted its magic influence, than his former vision recurred, with the additional appearance of an aged man, whose face bore the appearance of the moon in all its splendour. It wasMaha Sudona, the father of the god Budhoo,[107]who stood before the astounded rajah, and thus accosted him:—

“From ignorance of the sacredness of the ground over which the god’s favourite tree castsits honoured shade, thou once didst omit the usual respect due to it from all created beings. Its deeply-pointed leaf distinguishes it above all other trees as sacred to Budhoo; and, under another tree of the same heavenly character thou now liest a mass of sores and ulcers, which the impurity of the red water within the large and small rivers of thy body, has, at the great deity’s command, brought upon thee externally. But since the snake, the kind snake, the shelterer of the god Budhoo, when on earth, has thrice partaken of thy drink, thou wilt derive health and long life by obeying the commands which I now bear thee. In that direction (pointing towards the south) lies thy remedy. One hundred hours’ journey will bring thee to those trees, which thou shalt see in reality, and taste their fruits to thy benefit. But as on the top only it is produced, by fire it must be obtained. The inside, partly of transparent liquid, partly of innocent food, must be thysolediet, till thrice the Great Moon (Maha Handah) has given and refused her light. Disease will, at the expiration of that time, leave thee; thou wilt be clean again; but forget not, with the restoration of thy health, (the Singalese language renders it, ‘the skin of thy flesh, renewed by the fountains of thy life, being made red again,’) sacrifices of sweet flowers and fruits,with much thanksgiving, to that great Brahma of all Brahmas,[108]to whom all other gods, and even demons, pay homage, through whose mercy and forgiveness of thy neglect and transgressions thy bodily vigour will have been restored, and the days of thy enjoyment in the splendour of the mighty and flaming chief ruler[109]of the moon prolonged.”

A sound, as of ten thousand tom-toms,[110]struck at once seemed to the delighted rajah a manifestation of the messenger’s authority. It reverberated on his ear for hours together, after he had awakened from his second trance; and, impressed with a belief that the invisible powers had thus intimated a disposition to take him under their especial protection, and that, consequently, it was his bounden duty to obey commands so mysteriously conveyed, the rajah, placing the palms of his hands across his forehead, and bending to the ground, prayed for strength to act in obedience to the Ossah PollahDewyo, the ruler and creator of all gods and demons, and of the flat world itself.

Having summoned his immediate followers from the various resting-places, which they had constructed with the branches and leaves of the neighbouring trees, by way of temporary shelter, the rajah repeated to them the prophetic words of the divine messenger; and, having gone through the ceremony of making a propitiatory offering under the Bogaha-tree, of fruits, Betel-leaves, (Piper-betel,) and flowers of sweet perfume, he, attended by his retinue, proceeded in a direct course through rivers and forests, and over mountains immense, to the southward, as directed by the Maha Sudona.

The one hundred hours’ journey having been miraculously performed without any perceptible fatigue, either to himself or attendants, the anxiously anticipated view of that boundless expanse of blue water, which, in his dream, had appeared to him so beautiful, yet nauseous to the taste, and on its margin immense groves of trees, with tufts of leaves, (for the first time plainly perceived to be large branches,) as his visions had foretold, gratified his astonished, but delighted sight. Beneath the branches, sheltered from the vertical sun, hung large clustersof fruit, much larger than he had ever seen in his own country of the interior, of green, yellow, and red[111]colours, and others apparently black.

There were no human beings on the coast; but wild beasts, such as leopards, bears, sloths, and elephants innumerable. To climb the cocoa-nut tree, (the promised source of health,) was then unknown, and considered beyond the power of mortal man; but, as fire had been pointed out as the means of obtaining its fruit, the rajah’s followers procured two dry sticks, which having prepared, by pointing the end of one, and making a small hole in the middle of the other, for the reception of the pointed stick, friction produced fire, which was immediately increased, by the application of dried leaves to the emitted flame.

Scarcely had an hour elapsed, after the fire had been kindled that was to fell the pride of the coast and the most valuable boon of nature to the Indian world, ere, with a tremendous crash, it became prostrate upon the earth, whence, from its capacious and verdant crest, crept out creatures innumerable: large blue scorpions, brown and yellow centipedes, snakes of various hues, from the Polonga to the less dreadful rat-snake;blue, black, green, and yellow beetles; tarantulas, and other spiders, of all sorts and sizes and colours; whilst, running from branch to branch, the detested rat seemed to imitate the motions and equal in agility the beautiful tri-striped squirrel, or lena of this paradise, (as the glad rajah and his suite at that time considered it,) of the universe.

The novel fruit was, at first with some difficulty, opened; but the rajah’s superstitions were more powerful than even the effects of hunger itself. With awe, he approached the beach, over which wave followed wave in quick succession; whilst the surf beat with violence against the roots of those stately trees, which seemed to thrive best where no other tree of any utility whatever could survive even a temporary sprinkling from the briny spray.

Mute with astonishment at the vast expanse of ocean, which he then for the first time approached, the rajah bent to taste the liquid aliment. It was as his vision prognosticated. Again his wonder was increased; but his faith had kept pace with it, in the full belief, that “ere the great moon had thrice given and refused her light,” he would be cleansed from his foul distemper; and his disrespectful demeanor under the sacred Bogaha, which had originally drawndown upon him the anger of the “All-seeing,”[112]be forgiven.

Having once commenced, the rajah and his followers continued to live on the prescribed diet. The former, in obedience to the commands of Budhoo, by the Maha Sudona; and the latter, from necessity, there being none of their accustomed fruits, rice, or roots to be met with so near the ocean. They found the water[113]within the nuts sweet and delicious, and pure as crystal itself, (of which mineral their country produced abundant varieties,) whilst the fleshy part of it was a cooling and satisfying food.

The prescribed time rolled on; and day after day convinced the delighted followers of their suffering prince, that truth came from above. The rajah gradually lost the white and scaly skin, which had enveloped him like the armour of the great ant-eater of the interior;[114]whilst the glow of heat which pervaded his extremities, convinced him of the near approach of his promised recovery. Thankful to his great preserver, he omitted not to perform the duties which in his visions had been dictated to him; and on the first stone, which appeared durable and beyondthe reach of the sea, in token of his gratitude, he, with the assistance of his followers, carved on the granite rock (“which you now see,” is added by the narrator) a gigantic statue of himself; remarking, that its great height would show the wonderful recovery he had experienced, being a very little man in stature; “for he had risen, by the blessing of the god of all gods, to an undeserved height of happiness and bodily vigour; the memorial of which would thus be handed down to millions yet unborn.”

Numerous families, from the high[115]country of the interior, soon afterwards emigrated to the sea coast; for it had become an imperious duty on the part of the rajah, on whom a miraculous cure had been so unexpectedly wrought by the fruit of the cocoa-nut tree, to give publicity to the circumstances which originally introduced to him and his followers a knowledge of that splendid production; whilst the conviction of its transcendent utility pointed out its propagation as a never-failing source of individual advantage and of progressive national prosperity.

This useful tree is of the Monoecious class, order Hexandria, and is the Cocos[116]nucifera ofLinnæus: it is called Haari by the Tahitans, Polgaha by the Singalese. The varieties of the cocoa-nut are numerous at Tahiti, (one of the Society Islands.) I am acquainted with six, each having a distinct appellation by the natives. At Ceylon, five varieties are indigenous; but are seldom, if ever, found in the same plantation, except it be in the vicinity of a Budhoo temple of some importance. The first, or King cocoa-nut may be well known to those who have resided in Ceylon: its bright orange colour, and somewhat oval shape, cannot fail to attract notice, and is usually presented to respectable Europeans, by the Modeliars, or by the priests, as a compliment to those whose curiosity may have induced a visit to the shrine of Budhoo. This variety is the Tembili of the Singalese, and they have of it three sub-varieties. The second is of a similar colour to the preceding, but of a more spherical shape. The third is of a pale yellow, and rather heart-shaped: it is theNawasi, or edible husk, and has the peculiar quality, that after the epidermis has been removed, the inner rind turns to a pale red, and is edible. The fourth is the common cocoa-nut, which is in general use, and the one most known. Thefifth is a species of Maldivia, or dwarf cocoa-nut, about the size of a turkey’s egg, which being rare, is more esteemed as a curiosity than for any peculiar good quality it possesses.

The elevation[117]this tree attains is from sixty to one hundred feet, and a diameter of one or two feet; its cylindrical stem, crowned on the summit with numerous waving, plumy branches, has a splendid effect, and forms an elegant object of intertropical scenery: it is seen on the arid, sandy shores, with its roots laved by the surges, as well as in the rich valleys, overshadowing the huts of the natives; but when this valuable tree is found growing inland, they are inferior in size to those on the sea-shore and about the dwellings of natives. The Singalese have a saying, that cocoa-nut trees do not thrive unless “you walk amongst them, and talk amongst them.”[118]

The cocoa-nuts intended for planting are fully ripe, and being taken down, are laid aside for several days: they are then taken, and being partially covered with earth, they are left for two or three months; in which time a white, spongy, sweet substance forms in the interior of the nut; after which the white shoot (the rudiment of the future tree) emerges from one of the three holes, (which are seen at one end of the nut, wisely provided by nature for this purpose,) pierces the nut, and rising to the height of a few inches, the foliaceous rudiments are distinctly to be perceived;[119]the radicles emerge from the other two orifices, in a direction opposite to the shoot, and penetrate the ground. In the course of four or five months, the plant will have attained the height of sixteen or eighteen inches, and have thrown out three or four foliaceous branches. The Singalese plant theirtopes,[120]orgroves, with great regularity, the distance observed between the plants being twelve or eighteen feet. The cocoa-nuts are never planted until they have sprouted, and the young plant even attained the elevation of three feet or more; the natives, therefore, usually keep the nuts intended for planting about their houses, until they are considered to be of growth sufficient to plant. At the Island of Rótuma, South Pacific Ocean, I have seen them ranged along in great numbers before the huts, the young plants growing luxuriantly from the nuts, but as yet unplanted. At this island the cocoa-nut tree is planted abundantly, and covers the island profusely, from the margin of the beach to the summits of the hills, giving a beautiful appearance to this small but fertile island. In time of sickness the natives often make use of the young cocoa-nut trees as offerings to the supposed offended spirits.

For the first three or four years, the young plants are fenced, to protect them from the depredations of hogs, &c. to whom the young, delicate leaves would form a tempting morsel. In five or six years, (if the tree is planted in a healthy situation,) the tree will have attained anelevation, probably, of eight feet; and at that time the enormous size of its fronds are more conspicuous than when the tree has obtained its full elevation: it then usually commences to bear fruit, and continues for sixty years to yield it in abundance; but beyond that period, the produce begins decreasing, until it ceases altogether.

The wood of this tree is used for various purposes: among the Polynesians it is used for spears, rafters for their huts, fences &c.; and it also makes excellent charcoal. When the tree has ceased to bear, it is most valuable, and is imported into the European markets under the name ofporcupine wood. Among the Singalese it is used for rafters, laths, shingles, chairs, ladies’ work-boxes, &c.; but during the period of its most abundant bearing, (considered to be between ten and thirty-five years’ growth,) the heart is of so soft and spongy a nature, that it is merely used for fences, water-pipes, &c.

The fronds are from eighteen to twenty feet long, and composed of a strong, tough stalk, diminishing from the base, and has a number of narrow leaflets[121]ranged on each side. The Singalesesplit the fronds in halves, and plait the leaflets neatly, so as to make excellent baskets; and, under the denomination of cadjans, form the usual covering of their huts, as well as the European bungalows. Many of the natives’ huts are constructed there, as well as in Polynesia, almost entirely of materials derived from the cocoa-nut tree.

The Tahitans also plait the branches (niau) for screens, or a covering for the floors; for similar purposes, and also as a thatch for the huts, it is also used by the natives of the islands of Rótuma, Tongatabu,[122]and other of the Polynesian islands. The Tahitans call these screenspaua, and they also manufacture neat baskets, one kind of which is calledarairi, and another kind of basket calledoini; a shade for their eyes, calledtapo niau, is made of the plaited leaves, and placed by the natives over the eyesto protect them from the unpleasant solar reflection from their sandy roads and beaches; the yellow leaves (rau-para) are preferred for the purpose, their colour being much admired. The leaves were used in many of the religious ceremonies of the Tahitans, and was also an emblem of authority; it was sent by the chief to his dependents when any requisition was made: through the cocoa-nut leaf, tied to the sacrifice, the god was supposed to enter; and by the same road the evil spirits, who, it was imagined, tormented those affected with diseases, were driven out. Bunches or strings of the leaflets were also suspended in the temple on certain occasions, and answered the same purpose as beads in Roman Catholic worship, reminding the priest, or the worshipper, of the order of his prayers.[123]

The heart, or very young foliaceous fronds of this tree, is called the cabbage, which is an excellent vegetable, either cooked or dressed, in stews, hashes, or ragouts.[124]The Singalese usethe dried fronds as torches, both for themselves during the dark nights, or to carry before the carriages and palanquins of Europeans; they also use the spathe for a similar purpose, as well as for fuel; and at Rótuma and other Polynesian islands it is also adopted for a like purpose. At Tongatabu (one of the Friendly Islands) combs are made by the women of the midrib of the leaflets of the cocoa-nut tree, the upper part being beautifully worked with the fibre of the husk of the cocoa-nut, or Bulu; these combs, from their neat and ornamental appearance, were in great requisition during the time I visited that interesting island, and all the women were busily employed during the stay of the ship in making these combs, which they readily exchanged with the Papalangi[125](foreign) officers and crew for trifling articles. The combs were stained by the bark of the Koka-tree, of a dark reddish colour, intended as a rude imitation of tortoiseshell.

There is one portion of this valuable tree which attracts much the attention of the observer,—it is a kind of net-work; when very young it is delicate, beautifully white, andtransparent, and is seen at the bases of the young fronds; but as the frond attains maturity, this natural matting becomes coarser and tough, and changes to a brown colour;[126]it may be stripped off the tree in large pieces, which are used in Ceylon as strainers, particularly for the toddy, which is usually full of impurities when recently taken from the tree, as its sweetness attracts insects innumerable. In most countries which I have visited, where this valuable tree is produced, this portion of it is used for a similar purpose. At the island of Tahiti (Otaheite) it is calledAa; and besides being used as sieves for straining arrow-root, cocoa-nut oil, &c., the natives, when engaged in such occupations asdigging, fishing, &c., in order to save their bark cloth, would join several portions of this net-work together, and having a hole in the centre, in a manner similar to their mat-garment, called Tiabuta, wear it as an article of apparel, merely for the time in which they may be engaged in those occupations. It is certainly a garment, neither to be admired for its flexibility or firmness, but better calculated for fishermen, or those occupied in the water, as it will not be destroyed by wet, whereas their bark cloth would be utterly destroyed in the water, its substance resembling paper, both in strength and appearance.[127]

This fibrous net-work must also act as a security to the huge fronds, against the violence of the winds; and a valuable precaution, by which the sudden fall of the branch is prevented, which otherwise might endanger the lives of those passing under the trees; it is not uncommon to see the dead branches hanging from the trees perfectly dry, attached to the trunk only by this tenacious substance, and even then it requires no little muscular exertion to bring them down.

When a large bunch of the fruit is seen pending from, apparently, so fragile a stalk, it seems as if it were an impossibility that it could supportsuch a cluster; from twelve to twenty large nuts, besides several small, unproductive nuts, may be seen on each bunch, and in good situations the tree will admit of the fruit being gathered four or five times in the course of the year. The state in which the fruit is most used as an article of food, both meat and drink, is the green or young cocoa-nut, (Oua of the Tahitans, Koroomba of the Singalese,) at which time it yields an abundance of a delicious, cooling beverage, to which, sometimes, Madeira wine, brandy, &c. is added. The water, beautifully clear, has a sweetness, with a slight degree of astringency which renders it very agreeable; this liquid has been erroneously considered by most persons as injurious, producing a predisposition to dropsical complaints, and has been considered among the Tahitans one of the exciting causes of that prevalent disease amongst them termedféféorelephantiasis; but I have recommended and adopted this cooling beverage during my frequent and long visits to intertropical countries, and have always found it the most cooling and refreshing beverage during my botanical and other excursions; but when an immoderate quantity is drunk, I have known a slight degree of strangury produced by it. The ladies, however, who may fear taking itinternally, are informed that to the water of the green cocoa-nut is ascribed that inestimable property, to them, of clearing the face of all wrinkles and imperfections whatever, and imparting to it the rosy tints of youthful days!

In Ceylon, house-plasterers use the water of the green cocoa-nut, to which they attribute an adhesive quality in their white and other washes, in which Chunam[128]forms a chief ingredient for the walls of houses, &c. &c.; and the shells of the green cocoa-nut,[129]fixed on stakes, are used as illumination lamps for roads, trees, &c. The pulp in the interior of the young nut is very delicate, easily removed from the shell with a spoon, and may very well be named a vegetableblanc mange; in this state it is calledniaaby the Tahitans, who use it as well as the natives of other of the Polynesian Islands, in several made dishes. After the fruit is suffered to remain a short time longer, and the pulp becomes firmer, the Tahitans change the name toOmato, and the fully ripe nut is calledOpaa; in this state it is sometimes but seldom eaten, being used principally for making oil, and contains asmall quantity of oily milk; it is in this state the nuts are seen and sold in England. In Ceylon, when the nut is fully ripe, it is denominated by the SingalesePol, orCurry cocoa-nut, the kernel of which is reduced to a very small size by an instrument calledHiromane; (a circle of notched iron fastened to the raised end of a piece of wood;) the kernel thus reduced is placed in a cloth, and water being poured on it, a white juice, which may with propriety be termed “cocoa-nut milk,” is extracted by pressure, and used invariably, either with or without the grated kernel, in their various curries and mulligatawnies.

I have never met with the water contained in a cocoa-nut of a brackish taste, as has been asserted, although the tree from which it had been produced had its roots laved by the sprays of the ocean. Mr. Finlayson[130]says, respecting some plantations of cocoa-nut trees, which surrounded a village situated on Pulo Condore, at the extremity of a plain, that “although they grow in great abundance, they are rather stunted in the stem, and their fruit, as well as the fluid it contains, has a peculiar and rather bitter taste.”

The shells of the cocoa-nut, when fully ripe,are of a tolerable thickness, and great hardness; they are cut transversely, scraped, polished, and mounted on silver, being edged also with the same metal, and are preserved as goblets, more for curiosity than utility; but the shell is also used for cups, (elegantly carved,) lamps, ladles, skimmers, spoons, &c.; they are used by the Polynesians, as well as other natives, entire, for containing their water, having two holes on the summit. The interior of the nut is extracted without breaking the shell, by filling it with salt-water, after which it is buried for some time in the sand, when the inside pulp becomes decayed, and the shell is then well washed out. The largest nuts are chosen for the purpose, and are often seen highly polished, and of a fine black colour. The cups of the natives are usually made of sections of the cocoa-nut in that stage of ripeness, when they are denominated by the TahitansOmutu; they are then scraped so thin as to be nearly transparent, and are of a light-brown colour. The shells will make good lamp-black, and, reduced to charcoal and pulverized, also an excellent dentifrice.

The flowers are insignificant when the magnitude of the tree is considered, and are inclosed in a thick, tough spathe, which, when either opened artificially, or when seen just expandingnaturally, have a beautiful milk-white appearance. The Tahitans call the flowerTiari, a name applied generally to all flowers; and the spathe is denominatedPa tiari;Pasignifying a shell or any thing hard, sometimes applied to the shell of the cocoa-nut; and the spathe is thus considered the shell of the flowers. The first appearance of these flowers on a tree of moderate elevation (when they are well seen) has an elegant effect—the cluster erect, drooping, and delicately white. The taste of the flowers is most powerfully astringent, and in Ceylon is used medicinally in various debilitating diseases, more particularly that distressing malady in tropical climates—gonorrhœa. The mode in which it is administered is the expressed juice of the flower mixed with new milk, and taken in small quantities not exceeding a wine-glass full, but at regular periods, affords almost immediate temporary relief, and, if persevered in, effectual cure. It is from these flower spathes, before the flowers have yet expanded, that the delicious beverage, known to Europeans as toddy or palm-wine is made;[131]it is called by the SingaleseRa, and the Hindoo PortugueseSoura, but is unknown to the natives of Polynesia,although at some of the islands Europeans, who have visited those parts of India where they had seen the process of collecting it, had commenced instructing the natives, who were delighted to have a beverage possessing the stimulus of their favourite rum.

To procure the toddy[132]the spathe is tied with stripes of the milk-white leaves of the very young branches, (which are much tougher and stronger than the old ones,) to prevent its expansion; it is cut a little transversely from the top, and beaten either with the handle of the toddy knife or a small piece of ebony or iron wood; this process having been continued morning and evening (at dawn of day, and just as the sun declines below the horizon) for five or six successive days, the under part of the spathe is taken off, so as to permit of its being gradually bent, when the Chandos or toddy-drawers, for the purpose of keeping it in that position, attach it to some neighbouring branch. After a fartherperiod of five days an earthen chatty or calabash is hung to the spathe, so as to receive the toddy that exudes, which is collected every morning and evening, and the spathe cut a little every day: the quantity collected varies much.

The toddy should be drunk at sunrise, when it is a most delicious drink, having a slightly stimulating effect, and acting as a gentle aperient, a remedy admirably adapted for constipated habits, particularly in those of delicate constitutions. The Singalese prefer it after fermentation has taken place, and with it they often intoxicate themselves. Fermentation takes place in a few hours after the toddy has been collected, and is used by the bakers as yeast, the bread made with it being remarkably light. Toddy is seldom or never used by Europeans during the rainy season, being then regarded highly unwholesome. I have often found the toddy in Ceylon, and a refreshing bath before or just on the eve of sunrise, cooling, and it braces one up to go through the heat of the day in that sultry, debilitating climate.

The spirit known in India by the name ofarrack, orrack, is in several parts distilled from rice; but in Ceylon, where this spirit is named Pol, wakéré, it is distilled from toddy after it has undergone fermentation and becomequite sour. One hundred gallons of toddy, it is stated, will produce, by distillation, twenty-five of arrack. Like all other spirits, when new, it is regarded injurious to the constitution, but when old, very wholesome. It is a favourite spirit among the drinkers of that far-famed English beverage, named punch.

Toddy, besides the foregoing uses, makes excellent vinegar,[133]&c. The toddy-drawers are a separate caste in Ceylon, called Chandos: almost all the families of this class reside in the neighbourhood of the sea-coast, where the trees grow in the greatest luxuriance and abundance, the whole line of coast between Point de Galle and Colombo being thickly planted with them; and the topes or groves are let at a stipulated sum of rix-dollars by the month; and it is also not uncommon for one or two families or more to have a share in a single tree, affording themsufficient for their favourite and universal food, the currie.

Besides vinegar, arrack, &c., the toddy yields abundance of jaggery or sugar. The toddy, being collected in a calabash, as before mentioned, in which a few pieces of the bark of the Allghas (Hellenia Allughas, Linn.) had been placed, a supply of sweet toddy is procured mornings and evenings; but particular care is required that the vessels be regularly changed, and that none are employed unless they have been well cleaned and dried. Eight gallons of sweet toddy, boiled over a slow fire, yield two gallons of a very luscious liquid, called Penni, or honey, or jaggery, or sugar-water; which quantity, being again boiled, a species of coarse brown sugar, called jaggery, which is formed into round cakes, and dried in the smoke of the huts; and, in order to preserve it free from humidity, each cake of jaggery is tied up in pieces of dried banana leaves, separately, and kept in smoky places, unless required for family use or the market. Jaggery is exported from Ceylon to various parts of India. In the interior a jaggery is drawn from the Kittul tree, theCaryota urensof Linnæus, and is considered to possess more saccharine properties than that produced from theCocos nucifera. The jaggery-makers arecalled in CeylonHakuroos, and are one of the subdivisions of the second in rank of the Singalese castes.

The rind or husk of the cocoa-nut[134]is very fibrous, and, when ripe, is the Koya or Koir of commerce. It is prepared by being soaked for some months in water, washed, beaten to pieces, and then laid in the sun to dry. This being effected, it is again well beaten until the fibres are so separated as to allow of their being worked up like hemp, similar to which it is made up in ropes of any size from the smallest cord to the largest cable, but will not receive tar; it is rough to handle, and has not so neat an appearance about the rigging of shipping as that made from hemp, but surpasses the latter in lightness and elasticity, and even, it is said, durability; more so if wetted frequently by salt-water. From its elasticity it is valuable for cables, enabling a ship to ride easier than with a hemp or even chain cable. I was once on board a ship, in a severe gale, when chain and hemp cables gave way; and we, at last, most unexpectedly rode the gale out with a small coir-cable. Among the Polynesian islands, where this valuable tree rears its elegant crest, the coir is used in themanufacture of “sinnet,” some of which is beautifully braided, and used by the natives for a variety of useful purposes, and at Tahiti is called Napé. At Tonga, (one of the Friendly Islands,) the natives dye the “sinnet,” calledKafa, of various colours, using it in tying the rafters of the huts, &c. and it has a very ornamental appearance. The rope for their canvas is all manufactured from this substance. The husk, from which the fibrous substance has not been separated, is used in Ceylon in lieu of scrubbing-brushes for the floor; and also brooms, mats, and bags are manufactured from it. A quantity of coir cordage, such as cables, hawsers, &c., is exported annually from Ceylon to various parts of the globe. At the Pulowat Islands, (Carolina Group, South Pacific Ocean,) we purchased an abundance of cordage, an inch and one and a half inch in diameter, for merely pieces of iron hoop.[135]

From the trunk of the cocoa-nut tree the Tahitans extract a gummy substance, called by them Pia, pia; it possesses no fragrant property, but is used by the native females to spread over their hair, in the same manner that they are accustomedto use the viscid gum of the bread-fruit tree.

Mariner mentions the charm at the Tonga islands ofTa Niu, which consists in spinning a cocoa-nut with the husk on, and judging, by the direction of the upper part when again at rest, of the object of inquiry, which is chiefly whether a sick person will recover: for this purpose, the nut being placed on the ground, a relation of the sick person determines that if the nut, when again at rest, points to such a quarter—the east for example—the sick man will recover; he then prays aloud to the patron god of the family, that he will be pleased to direct the nut, so that it may indicate the truth. The nut being next spun, the result is attended to with confidence, at least with a full conviction that it will truly declare the intentions of the gods at the time.

The other occasions on which the spinning of a cocoa-nut is used, are chiefly for amusement, and then no prayer is made, and no degree of credit is attached to the result. The women often spin a cocoa-nut to decide some dispute at a game.

Another valuable production of the cocoa-nut is the oil, which is a valuable article of exportation from Ceylon, and other parts of India, Polynesia, &c. It is used in various articles ofdomestic economy, besides being an excellent burning oil, (for which it is much admired, giving out neither smoke nor smell when burning, and having a clear bright flame,) it has since had an additional value, and more extended use at home, by the discovery of its capability of being manufactured into candles, rivalling wax or spermaceti, at the same time without being much higher in price than those of tallow. Soap has also been manufactured from it; and it is lavished by the Asiatics, Polynesians, and other intertropical natives, over their persons, and at Tongatabu, and other of the Polynesian islands, is used scented with sandal-wood and odoriferous flowers, giving a delightful fragrance to the flowing tresses and elegant persons of the dark beauties of those fascinating islands. In cold weather, (similar to most of the vegetable oils,) this oil becomes very hard, and requires to be melted before it can be used for burning.

The singular method of making the oil is very simple. The nut having been removed from the shell, is boiled in water for a short period; it is then pounded in a large mortar, taken out, and pressed. Themilk, as it is called, is then boiled over a slow fire, when the oil floats on the top, which being skimmed off, and afterwards boiled by itself, two quarts of oil may be procured fromfourteen or fifteen cocoa-nuts. When fresh, the oil is used in cookery, and has an excellent flavour; the Singalese anoint their bodies with it after bathing, and invariably use it for the sake of giving a glossy and smooth appearance to the hair, and it is in great requisition by both sexes.

The remains of the cocoa-nut, from which the oil has been extracted, is called by the SingalesePoonak, and the bestPoonakis obtained when the oil is extracted by pressure; it is an excellent food for pigs, poultry, &c. This substance is termed by the TahitansOta, and by the natives of TongatabuEfeniu, and they use it also for fattening their pigs, poultry, &c. as also at the other Polynesian islands.

At Tahiti they procure theMorii, or oil from the nuts, by first grating the kernel, then depositing it in the hollow trunk of a tree, or some kind of hollow vessel, which is exposed to the sun during the day. After a few days have elapsed, the grated nut is heaped up in the trough or vessel, leaving a space between the heaps, the oil exuding drains into the hollow spaces, from whence it is collected by the natives into large bamboo canes; (containing each a gallon, or more;) in this way it is sold for shipping, or rather exchanged for axes, cotton, cloth, or rum; but the indolence of the natives preventsits being so important an article of traffic as it might be in the South Seas.

Sometimes the Tahitans, after the oil ceases to collect in the vessel, put the kernel into a bag, and submit it to the action of pressure by a rude lever press; but the oil thus obtained is considered inferior to that procured by the heat of the sun.

The Malabar method of extracting oil, is, by dividing the kernel into two equal parts, which are ranged on shelves made of laths of the Areka palm, or split bamboo, spaces being left between each lath of half an inch in width; under them a charcoal fire is then made, and kept up for about two or three days, in order to dry them. After this process they are exposed to the sun on mats, and when thoroughly dried (then called Koppera) are placed in an oil press, or Siccoor. The Malabars have a caste of oil pressers, called the Waany caste.

At Colombo (island of Ceylon) there is a government steam-engine, which was erected in 1815, for the purpose of extracting the oil from the nut in much larger quantities, and with greater facility than before. Ceylon furnishes an abundance of cocoa-nut oil, much is used in the colony, and a large quantity is also exported to Europe. In Ceylon the average price is from thirteen to fifteen pence per gallon.

There are medicinal properties attributed to different parts of the cocoa-nut tree in Ceylon; the root (the Tumu Haari of the natives of Tahiti) is used by the native doctors, small pieces of it being boiled with dried ginger and jaggery, and the decoction given at stated regular periods, and is considered highly efficacious in remittent and intermittent fevers. When this decoction is used as a gargle, it is mixed with the fresh oil of the nut, and generally affords considerable relief to the patient; and has good effect, it is said, in cases where pustules have formed in the mouth or tonsils. The expressed juice of the leaves, mixed with the fresh oil of the nut, is considered a sovereign remedy in hemorrhoids. The expressed juice of the nut, used as an external application, mixed with new milk, is regarded by the Singalese as a good remedy for ophthalmic complaints.

It has been asserted, I believe by Lord Valentia, that cocoa-nut trees were injurious to the air in the places where they grew. Dr. Davy notices this in his excellent work on Ceylon, and says, “Respecting the good effect of the wind from the sea, there can be no doubt; and almost as little can be entertained respecting the ameliorating effect of cultivation, and the benefit derived from the shade of cultivated trees. Unfortunate would it be for the island, were thenotions of a noble traveller on this subject correct, or were his suggestions, founded on these notions, carried into execution; who, supposing cocoa-nut trees to be injurious to the air, has recommended the destruction of those fine groves in the neighbourhood of Galle, with the idea of improving the wholesomeness of a place already remarkably wholesome. It was from notions similar to this, not long after we had possession of Trincomalie, that the majority of the cocoa-nut trees at that place were cut down, to the great detriment of the inhabitants, and to the deterioration rather than the improvement of the air. It is well established, and ought never to be forgotten, that it is not shade that is prejudicial in a hot climate; that it is not vigorous healthy vegetation that is noxious; but the accumulation of dead vegetable matter and its putrefaction; and that whilst every means are taken to prevent the latter, too much encouragement cannot be given to promote the former.”

It is interesting to see the natives ascend this lofty palm, to gather its fruit: they simply fasten a piece of bark round their feet, leaving between them a space of a few inches; they then clasp the tree, and ascend with great agility. In throwing down the nuts, a whirling motion is usuallygiven to prevent their falling on the side, by which they may be burst.

The natives of the island of Tahiti, in one of their traditions, ascribe the origin of the cocoa-nut to its having grown from the head of a man: they have similar traditions for the origin of the bread-fruit, yams, &c. &c.

There are other species of the cocoas. TheC. butyracea, a native of South America, theC. guiniensis,aculeata,nypa, &c. &c. all of which yield a fixed oil in use for various purposes.

Lionel Wafer, (1685,) when at the Island Cocoas, southern Pacific Ocean, (latitude 5° 15′ north,) attributes injurious effects to an indiscriminate use of the water of the cocoa-nut by some of his crew, by which that beverage was found unfit for ajollification; for he says, “Nor did we spare the cocoa-nuts, eating what we would, and drinking the milk; carried several hundreds of them on board. Some or other of our men went ashore every day; and one day, among the rest, being minded to make themselves very merry, they went ashore, and cut down a great many cocoa-trees, from which they gathered the fruit, and drew about twenty gallons of milk. Then they all sat down, and drank healths to the king, queen, &c. They drank an excessive quantity; yet it did not end in drunkenness.But, however, that sort of liquor had so chilled and benumbed their nerves, that they could neither go nor stand; nor could they return on board the ship, without the help of those who had not been partakers in the frolic; nor did they recover it under four or five days’ time.”

The continued use of the water contained in the young or green cocoa-nuts, is one of the causes attributed, (although I am inclined to consider it an erroneous opinion,) to produce the scrotal enlargements, &c. so often seen among natives of intertropical regions, more particularly those resident on the coast.

In a letter published in the Sydney Herald, of January 14th 1833, it is said, “The natives of Tahiti alone, make forty or fifty tons of cocoa-nut oil in the year, and all the other islands of the groups make an equal proportion. They sell it for calico, that costs about twopence-halfpenny per yard in England, and receive a fathom for four or five gallons. But the owners of vessels from this colony, (New South Wales,) find something more lucrative for their shipping than sending them to the islands, and the natives are discouraged at having no trade. The indigenous arrow-root remains undug, and the cocoa-nuts fall to the ground, and rot.” That the quantityof oil mentioned in the foregoing extract could be made, and even a much larger quantity, I do not doubt; but that it would pay a vessel to proceed from Sydney to the islands, I have my doubts: indeed it has been tried, and found a losing speculation,—native indolence causing much delay to the vessel; as, at one time they have a quantity of oil ready, at other times they are too indolent to manufacture any. Sending a vessel down, therefore, to the islands, is a risk, and as such it is well known to several of the Sydney merchants, although now and then good cargoes have been returned. With industry, however, those valuable and beautiful islands could produce abundance of cocoa-nut oil, sugar, arrow-root, and other articles of equal value; but, under the present state of things, I have not very sanguine hopes.

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