333 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 1884. 



time and coutermanded all further orders for such 

 plants and seed. So much for my own experience. 

 Only quite recently a gentleman well up in jat was 

 on Ins travels, and reported tome that in a certain 

 district he saw thousands of purchased plants of 

 the ranked <:hina jcil being put in with the most 

 perfect confidence in their immaculate breed. 



VERB. SAP. 



LKAF-DISEASK, NEW PRODUCTS, &c. 

 No. V. 



THE COCONUT TREE AND ITS USES. 



Sir, — The coconut tree belougs to the tribe of palms. 

 It is said, and truly so, that of a coconut tree a ship can 

 be built and laden too. It grows to the height of 60 

 or 70 feet, from the root, and the truuk gradually 

 tapers, and almost at its summit it spreads out into 

 what are called branches with beautiful foliage or 

 leaves ; these leaves grow on the so-called branches, and 

 each leaf is divided in the centre by a thin woody 

 rib which is called the mid-rib. The leaves are useful 

 both in their fresh and dried states. The dried leaves 

 are, after soaking for a short time in water, separated 

 from the branch and dried and plaited, they form a plaiting 

 of leaves woven into each other and are called cadjans ; 

 these cadjans are used for covering houses, fences, and 

 roofs of country vessels. The leaf and branch or leaf- 

 stalk undivided and plaited with one another make a 

 good substitute fortats, andarecool and refreshing when 

 fresh. The trunk of the tree at its lowest part is six or 

 eight feet in circumference ; when divided into two, it is 

 used as nutters and in some places as rafters, but is not 

 equal in duration to the palmyra rafters. From the 

 bottom upwards there are concentric rings which mark 

 the place where the old leaves were attached. The 

 flowers are generally enclosed in thick horny-looking 

 but fleshy cases which are called npathes ; they are in 

 clusters on each side of a stalk. From the spathe and 

 flower a liquid substance is obtained resembling watery 

 milk which is called toddy. This is sweet and 

 refreshing when fresh, but when exposed or kept too 

 long becomes sour and intoxicating. Spirit called 

 arrack is obtained from the toddy in such large quant- 

 ities, as' to afford a revenue to Government, and an 

 article of trade. Of the sour toddy vinegar is made ; 

 from the sweet toddy collected in large quantities boiled 

 and evaporated a sweet substance is obtained which is 

 called jaggery. The fruits grow in clusters ; some 

 varieties of them are comparatively large ; when tender 

 or fresh plucked, thenutbas a green fibrous coating under 

 which are fine fibres of a reddiBb yellow color which 

 cover the shell. The Bhell is hard and woody ; it 

 encloses the white fleshy kernel and some water. The 

 outer covering of the coconnt, although generally caBt 

 away, when dried may be used for fuel ; the underlying 

 fibres when washed and cleaned and separated 

 are called coir fibres. These fibres are used for a 

 variety of purposes : they are made into coir rope 

 of different thickness and strength ; they are made 

 into mats, nigs and brushes, and have been 

 plaited and made into hats and bonnets ; they are 

 also used lor cushions and mattresses and many 

 other things. The shell can be divided into two and 

 used for ladles, cups and driuking vessels ; sometimes 

 only the top piece is sawn off and graven with 

 varieties of designs. The kernel is a white and com- 

 paratively soft substance which is found inside 

 the shell ; in its early stage it is like jelly and 

 can b ■ easily scooped out and eaten ; it is cooling 

 and refreshing'. In an advanced stage it is harder 

 and may be scraped ; in this stage it is used in 

 making cakes ; when boiled with sugar it is called 

 "ohincha" or "cbinchareen " in Portuguese. This i. 

 put into pancakes and rolled and is called "throothas' 

 When still more hardened and matured it is 



scraped out, and milk is expressed out of it which 

 is sweet and of a thicker consistency than cow-milk. 

 The milk is used for compositions of curries and forms 

 a nice gravy when boiled together with curry-stuffs, 

 etc. It is largely used for this purpose by the people 

 of India and Ceylon. When boiled and evaporated, 

 a fine clear oil is obtained which is used as hair- 

 oil and is the best for improving or promoting the growth 

 of hair : it makes the hair soft and glossy. The 

 refuse of the scraped coconut makes very good food 

 for poultry. The coconut when allowed to dry to 

 some extent is an article of trade and exportation aud is 

 called copp"rah, and the o'lmongers extract large quant- 

 ities of oil, which is used for lighting purposes. It is 

 extracted by a rode kind of mill called chekku, made 

 of wood and worked by bulls. The refuse after being 

 extraction comes out in large cakes and is called poonac, 

 which is used as food for animals and may also be 

 used as manure for trees. 



By way of recapitulation it may be stated that a 

 vessel may be built by layers of rafters both for the 

 ribs and the sides of the hull of the vessel. The 

 interstices or seams may be filled by coir fibres then 

 caulked and painted. The floor o F the deck 

 may be laid with rafters and these also caulked and 

 painted. The mast may be made of the well-seasoney 

 trunk of the coconut tree. The rope and hawsers mad 

 be made of the fibies ; the sails may also be made of 

 the same. Then the vessel will be from stem to stern 

 made eutirely of the coconut tree. It may be laden with 

 the following : — Coconut rafters, coir yarn, mats, rugs, 

 brushes and coconuts. It may also be laden with arrack, 

 jaggery, copperah, cojonut nil, poonac and cadjans. 

 So the vessel will be actually huilt and laden with 

 the coconut tree itself. There are several kinds of 

 coconut: the ordinary "nawasi," of which the fleshy 

 covering of the kernel is tender and may be eaten, 

 is of a sweet taste ; the king coconut, the outer 

 skin of which is white, is of two kinds, |the 

 large and small size ; then there is what the Tamils 

 call " suriya kavelle " (sun-faced) — if the stalk-end of 

 the surface of the coconut iscut, it presents a beautiful 

 red appearance ; this is supposed to be caused by the 

 face of the sun, but how it is so is not known — the 

 natives use tnis kind particularly for medicine, Then 

 there is the small hard k nd which the natives call 

 " pora tengai," the shell of which is very hard, and 

 they use it for breaking against each other on their 

 New Year's festival, which is about the 12th of April. 

 Then there is the dwarf coconut tree which looks 

 very ornamental, and the Maldive is also another 

 kind of coconut. SILEX. 



Growing House Plants in Moss. — In some of the Swiss 

 villages nearly all the inhabitants are engaged in watch- 

 making. They work in large rooms, which, being abund- 

 antly lighted and well warmed allow the workmen to cult- 

 ivate plants, that, on account of the uncertainty and rigour 

 of the climate cannot be grown in the open air. The 

 President of one of the local horticultural societies in 

 Switzerland gives in the Revue Horticole an account of the 

 great success with which plants are cultivate'! in moss in 

 these watch factories. One great advantage in the use of 

 moss is the readiness with which plants may be grouped 

 in large vases and boxes. In France a " fertilized moss " 

 is sold, but ordinary moss with occasional application of 

 liquid fertilizers will answer as well. Ordinary sphagnum 

 or peat moss, such as is used by florists in packing, may 

 be employed, but the writer prefers the moss which grows 

 in sheets upon rocks and around the trunks of trees at 

 their base. Wire baskets lined with this moss are used, 

 as are jardiuiers of metal, glazed pottery, etc., taking care 

 to provide sufficient drainage. The liquid fertilizer used 

 on these house plants should be without unpleasant odour ; 

 weak guano water, solutions of nitrate of soda or sulphate 

 of ammonia may he employed, and very fine flour of bone 

 may be mixed with the moss. — American Agriculturist 



