8 9 6 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[June i, 1885. 



sold as fuel, and for lighting and rousing fires. The nuts, 

 tuo offered a problem even after they were cracked ; 

 but' perhaps we learned something from the natives of 

 Ceylon and other who grate the nut as an ingredient of 

 " Ourry " and of pastry ; at all events, there is now an 

 immense consumption of the raw nut as an article for 

 confectionery in a hundred forms, or for mingling with 

 other ingredients in the production of elegant and delicate 

 additions to the dessert. 



If anyone would know where a great many of the cocoa- 

 nuts go after they are hoisted out of the ship's hold 

 in the docks, it might be weli to take a walk into the 

 Jewish quarter of London— about Aldgate, and so to Duke's 

 Place and what was once the orange market. They will 

 see cellars full of cocoa-nuts, or their husks ; the latter 

 being periodically cleared out, not for fuel, but to form 

 material for a very useful industry by which the stiff, 

 clastic fibre of the inner portion of the shell is retted for 

 the purpose of making brushos for stable and other uses. 

 Such refuse as remains is found suitable for certain garden 

 purposes, especially as a mulching for ferns, rhododendrons, 



and other plants. . «,,.,.... 



But the consumption of cocoa-nuts here tails into insigni- 

 ficance when compared with the quantities used for food 

 in the countries of their growth, and with the incalcul- 

 able numbers which are taken from the groves of Poly- 

 nesia the Society Islands, and from Oeylon, for making 

 coconut oil, a product from which we receive, not only 

 oil, but stearine. after tho oil has reached this country. 



After this we are reminded that the first coco- 

 nut ever produced in Europe, was by Mr. Smith of 

 Isleworth,— who had charge of the Duke of Northumber- 

 land's estate atSion, near London,— in December 1863. 

 Of course this was on a tree grown in a conservatory. 

 Under the heading of "Round the W< rid and Home 

 Again " Mr. Treloar gives a good deal of information, 

 some 'of which v.e shall copy into our own fuller 

 compilation on the Coco palm. Referring to the other 

 nalms, he has much to say about the Date :— 



The Date Palm, is the tree which most immediately 

 occurs to the imagination when "Palms "are mentioned. 

 The branches and leaves of this palm have sacred associ- 

 ations They are symbolical of triumph or rejoicing, 

 and have borne an importautpart in great manifestations. 

 This is noticed by Dr. Berthold Seeraan in his learned 

 and interesting " History of the Palms," and he quotes 

 the charming lines from Goethe:— 



" Iu Rome upon Palm Sundays 



They bear true palms; 

 The cardinals bow reverently, 



And siug old psalms : 

 Elsewhere, those psalms are sung 



'Mid olive branches : 

 The holly branch supplies their place 



Among the avalanches : 

 More northern climes must be content 

 With the sad willow." 

 Dr Seeman reminds us that tho Balix Coprca, a goat_ 

 willow goes by tho name of palm in Northern Germany. 

 Rosalind, in Wspeare's " As You Like It, " says- 

 " Look here what I found on a Palm tree"; and the 

 notion of a palm tree iu tho Forest of Arden, has puzzled 

 comineutators who did not know that in Northampton- 

 shke and elsewhere the goat willow is called the palm 

 trrobiblv from its having been used for church decorations 

 on Palm Sunday, when its graceful yellow blossoms, ap- 

 pearing in early Spring, made it particularly suitable for 

 the purpoBe. 



But it is iu respect of Coir Fibre manufacture that 

 Mr Tre'oar is particularly at hom», and' the fol- 

 lowing nference is of interest sufficient to warrant its 

 reproduction here: — 



As early as 1832, Captain Wildey had commenci d 

 the trade Io 1836 he opened a cocoi-nut libre dep6t 

 in Agar Street, Strand, and there the firm really 

 commenced operations. Iu 1839, Captain Robert 

 Logan who was then a partner, took out a patent 

 for the manufacture of the fibre into various fabrics ; 

 and machinery and treatment of the fibre so rapidly 

 improved that' cocoa-nut matting, of our manufacture, 

 was laid in St. George's Hall, Windsor, previous to 



the ceremony of christening the Prince of Wales, in 

 January, 1S42, the Times of the 26th January that 

 year recording the fact that "the floor was covered 

 first with a matting made of the husk of the cocoa- 

 nut." The increase in manufactures from this fibre 

 was more rapid aftir the Exhibition of 1851, and 

 by the time that the second Exhibition was opened 

 in 18C2, had grown into an important iudustry, 

 though it had Dot been fully developed. 



Some of the mottoes worked into mats, as ordered 

 by customers, are very curious, for instance, " Use 

 me " and " Use me well " are very appropriate on a 

 door mat; the "Cave Capem" mat is an exact copy 

 of an old pavement found at Pompeii ; the fac-simile 

 may be seen in the Crystal Palace at the entrance 

 to the Pompeiian Court. 



It is unnecessary to follow the remarkable increase 

 in the demand in successive years, or to explain 

 the cause of fluctuations in the supply of raw 

 material (coir fibre and yarn) but the following table 

 will indicate the general increase in the importations 

 of those materials from 1S66 to 1882 ; the manufacture 

 of mats and matting having been largely augmented, 

 while other uses to which the material was adapted 

 were also multiplied. We should mention that these 

 particulai's have been supplied to us by our friend, 

 Mr. J. A. Noble, who has for many years been con- 

 nected with the importation of coir to this country. 



The table referred to will be given in our volume, 

 and we would ask Mr. Treloar and other popular 

 writers on this palm and its products whether they 

 could not follow our example in dropping the final 

 "a" and writing the name "Coco," so as to minim- 

 ize the risk of confusion — now too common — between 

 the palm and the product of cacao, so universally 

 known as "cocoa" nibs, paste, cakes, &c. We may 

 add in conclusion that Mr. Treloar pays a well- 

 merited compliment to Miss Marianne North and 

 I the very fine gallery of Marianne North's Paintings 

 of ' Plants aod their Homes ' at Kew— our inspection 

 of which under the kind guidance of Sir Joseph 

 Hooker, is one of the brightest recollections of an 

 enjoyable holiday trip. Should Mr. Treloar have 

 occasion to publish another edition of bis little book, 

 we would recommend him to get a copy of the latest 

 edition of our "Ceylon Handbook and Directory' 

 for statistical pif poses, while we shall take care to 

 send him a copy of our own " Coconut Manual " in 

 acknowledgement of the present gift from his publishers. 



Scenting Tea — Hon. R. B. Downall writes : — " I. 

 noticed the other day that to a letter on "Flavoring Tea" 

 you added a footnote that doing so by the aid of 

 flowers was unknown here and in India. I have seen 

 the ilowors of jessa'nine and oraDge used for this pur- 

 pose in a tea factory in Iudia." We havesiDce learned 

 from a Ceylon plauter that experiments iu scenting 

 Ceylon Uas have also been made, but the market for 

 such teas 13 so limited that the practice was not per- 

 severed in. 



Ricf, and Timber.— A Ma^keliya planter prefers the 

 following enquiries : — " Can you oblige me with the 

 following information ? What is the duty ou rice ex- 

 j por'ed from Indian ports ? also from Burma? Is it 

 ' the same rate if shipped to Ceylon, as if to England 

 or elsewhere ? Can you tell me the Sinhalese name of 

 the ' sau tree'? You mentioned it in your paper, I 

 think, but Icanuot recollect it, though I fancy it was 

 kappal-gas ; if so, that may mean any tree lit to 

 make dhqneys out of, and is not distinctive enough to 

 enable one to get an ordinary Sinhalese to collect seed." 

 The duty on rice exported from British Ind'a, includ- 

 ing British Burmi, to any other country is three anoas 

 per Indian maund of S'3 2-7ths lb. avoirdupois, or 1437 

 i cents per bushel of 65 lb. The Sinhalese name ol 

 | Albiizia ttipidala is " Kibalniara " or " Hulaumara, ' 



