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of which have been removed during the past ten years to make 

 room for building purposes. 



From 1880 to 1886 Ceylon passed through a financial crisis in 

 consequence of the failure of the coffee trees, which were destroyed 

 by a fungoid disease caused by an organism named Hemileia 

 vastatrix, for which no cure could be found. During this time 

 cinchona and tea planting came into being, and Ceylon is now 

 chiefly famous throughout the world for the excellence of its tea. 



Other products of importance are cacao, cinchona, cardamoms, 

 and rubber. 



More than sixty varieties of rice or "paddy" are grown in the 

 Island, all of which, with one exception(the variety called " el-vi "), 

 require more or less continual irrigation. 



Another grain of great importance to the poorer natives is that 

 which is called millet or "kurakkan" (Eleusine coracana). This 

 is grown on waste lands called "chena," a corruption of the 

 Sinhalese word " hena," meaning ground prepared for cultivation 

 at intervals of several years by the cutting and burning of jungle. 



The arecanut is the fruit of the Areca Palm, the tall slender 

 stems of which aflEord a pleasing contrast with the unending groves 

 of cocoanut palms. It is used for chewing with the betel leaf, and 

 also has some medicinal value. 



Native tobacco is extensively cultivated in various parts of the 

 Island. 



On the top of the case are specimens of the gum of the cashew or 

 caju tree (Anacardium occidentale), a common tree yielding an 

 edible nut, but not endemic, having, it is thought, been introduced 

 from Brazil by the Portuguese ; and the resin of the tree called 

 " hal " in Sinhalese {Valeria acuminata). 



Products of tlit^ Cocoanut Palm. — The objects exhibited in this 

 case have on the whole a familiar homely appearance, and bear 

 eloquent testimony to the world-wide importance of the tree upon 

 which, in the first instance, the wealth of the Island largely 

 depends. Almost every part of the tree subserves some useful 

 purpose, and its general commercial value far exceeds that of the 

 Palmyra Palm. It begins to bear fruit at about the tenth year, 

 and a single tree may yield about seventy nuts annually. It is 

 monoecious, i.e., male and female fiowers are on the same tree, so 

 that every tree in a plantation will be fertile. 



Most compounds of bungalows in Colombo are planted with 

 cocoanut palms, which can only be cut down by tenants upon 

 payment of ten rupees for each tree. 



The husk of the fruit yields coir fibre, the shell can be used for 

 drinking vessels, bowls often handsomely carved, spoons, charcoal, 



i 



