Chap. II.] 



COCO-XUT TALMS. 



125 



crease since, that the total number in the island cannot 

 be less than twenty millions. 



All that has ever been told of the bread fruit or any 

 other plant contributing to the welfare of man, is as 

 nothing compared with the blessings conferred on 

 Ceylon by this inestimable palm. The Singhalese, in 

 the warmth of their affection for then' favourite tree, avow 

 their behef that it pines when beyond the reach of the 

 human voice ^ ; and recount with animation the " hun- 

 dred uses " for which its products are made available.^ 



summary of the extent of coco-nut 

 cultivation in the island :— " In the 

 quinquennial period ending 1841, the 

 average export of coco-nut oil did not 

 gi-eatly exceed 400,000 gallons, the 

 value being under 20,000/. In 1857, 

 the export rose to the enormous figm-e 

 of 1,767,413 gallons, valued at 

 212,184/. At 40 nuts to a gallon of 

 oil, the above export represents no 

 fewer than 70,69G,.520 coco-nuts. 

 We should think that at least as much 

 oil is consumed in the colony as is 

 sent out of it. If so, we (jet 141,393,040 

 nuts, convea-ted into 3,534,826 gallons 

 of oil, besides poonack or oil-cake, 

 which is valuable as food for animals 

 and as manure. Smj that there are 

 20,000,000 of coco-nut trees in Ceylon, 

 oil woidd seem to be made from the 

 product of one-sixth of them, say 

 3,500,000. We should think that 

 not less than 5,000,000 more of the 

 trees are devoted to ' Toddy ' draw- 

 ing, the liquor being drunk fermented, 

 distilled into arrack or converted into 

 sugar. We should then have 

 11, .500,000 of trees, yielding 

 460,000,000 of nuts to meet the food 

 requirements of the people, besides 

 the quantity exported in their uatiu'al 

 state or as copperah." 



' That the coco-nut prows more 

 luximantly in the vicinity of human 

 dwellings is certain ; but then it liuds 

 a soil artificially enriched tliere : and 

 it is equally certain that the tree is 

 never found wild in the; jungles ; but 

 this may be owing to the destruction 

 of the young plants by elephants, 



which are fond of the tender leaves. 

 The same reason serves to account for 

 its rarity in the Kandyan country, 

 which cannot be ascribed solely to 

 remoteness from the sea, since the 

 coco-nut palm grows a hmadred 

 leagues from the coast in Venezuela, 

 and it is even said to have been seen 

 at Timbuctoo. 



^ The list is, of course, extended to 

 the full himdred ; but to eke out this 

 complement requires some ingenious 

 subdivision. Thus, the trunk fur- 

 nishes fourteen appliances for build- 

 ing, fiu-nitm-e, firewood, ships, fences, 

 and farming implements ; the leaves, 

 twenty-seven for thatch, matting, 

 fodder-baskets, and minor utensils ; 

 the weh sustaining the footstalks 

 serves for strainers and flambeaux ; 

 the hlossotn, for preserves and pickles ; 

 the fruit-sap, for spirits, sugar, and 

 vinegar ; the nut and its Juices, for 

 food and for drinking, for oil, curries, 

 cakes, and cosmetics ; the shell, for 

 cups, lamps, spoons, bottles, and 

 tooth-powder ; and the ^bre wJiich 

 surromids it, for beds, cushions, and 

 carpets, brushes, nets, ropes, cordage, 

 and cables. — See ante. Vol. I. Pt. i. 

 ch. iii. p. 110. One pre-eminent use 

 of the coco-nut palm is omitted in all 

 these popular enumerations : it acts 

 as a conductor injjrutectinf/ their houses 

 from li(/htninfj. As many as 500 of 

 th(>se trees were struck in a single 

 j^nfoo near Putlam during a succession 

 of thunder-storms in April 1859. — 

 Colombo Observer. 



