502 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV- 



found to be ready. They then present a russet brown appearance and 

 are very soft. The thin outer sheathing leaf-stalks are peeled off in this 

 state and the inner more succulent parts are thus eaten. Their flavour 

 is not at all unpleasant, as a lady, the wife of the Collector of the District, 

 who tasted some of them immediately after removal from the improvised 

 oven, agreed. 



The practice of preparing the Kowdurs in this manner is restricted 

 and has almost ceased in some places since the introduction of forest 

 conservancy in Thana, because for their preparation a large quantity 

 of firewood is needed. In some instances pits large enough to hold 300 

 or 400 Kowdurs are dug. The cooked inner succulent* leaf-stalks are 

 then peeled and dried in the snn for 3 or 4 days when they become quite 

 brittle. They are subsequently pounded into the consistency of flour 

 and stored for the rains in bins. The resulting flour is then mixed with 

 bread chiefly, and eaten. 



In the central parts of Thana and more especially in the Wada Taluka 

 cattle are stall fed on the leaves. In the Kolaba District and parts of 

 Thana, as at Saoroli in the Dahanu Tuluka, the plant is specially cultivated 

 in small gardens for its leaves which serve as dinner plates. The wild 

 tribes in Bassein collect them in the forests in August and September 

 and sell them to merchants who export them for sale as dinner plates to 

 Bombay. 



The flowers which are a very pale yellow, almost white, appear at 

 about the end of July to September when the plant is full grown. 



This in some cases is 4 years and in others 6 or 7 years. The fruits 

 begin to appear in August and continue appearing up to the end of 

 January after which the plant dies. The flowering and pruning stalk 

 is known as " Longra." 



In parts of the Konkan the seeds are eaten as a prophylactic 

 ugainst small- pox. In the Chiploon Taluka of the Ratnagiri district the 

 practice is said to be common during an epidemic of small-pox as I am 

 informed by one who is a resident of that taluka and who has eaten the 

 seeds himself for this purpose. They are also used as a specific in hydro- 

 phobia in the Bassein Taluka. 



Three drachms (by weight) of the powdered seed are mixed with one 

 ounce and five drachms of water and the preparalion is strained through 

 doth and taken as a dose which is administered morning and evening. 



