ClIAP. VI.] 



THE PALMYRA PALM. 



523 



The palmyra must attain an age, variously stated at 

 from fifteen to thirty years, before it begins to yield fruit. 

 The spathes of the fruit-bearing trees exhibit themselves 

 in November and December, and the toddy-drawer forth- 

 with commences his operations, chmbmg by the assistance 

 of a loop of flexible jungle vine, sufficiently wide to admit 

 both his ancles, and leave a space between them ; thus 

 enabhng him to grasp the trunk of the tree with his feet, 

 and support himself as he ascends. Ha\ing primed off 

 the stalks of fallen leaves, and cleansed the crown from 

 old fruit stalks, and other superfluous matter, he bmds the 

 spathes tightly with thongs to prevent them from further 

 expansion, and descends, after having thoroughly bruised 

 the embyro flowers within to facilitate the exit of juice. 

 For several succeeding mornings the operation of crushmg 

 is repeated, and each day a thin shce is taken off the end 

 of the racemes to facilitate the exit of the sap, and prevent 

 its biu-sting the s})atlie. About the eighth morihng the 

 sap begins to exude ; an event which is notified by the 

 immediate appearance of birds, especially of the " toddy 

 bird," a species of shrike (Artamus fiiscus), attracted by 

 the flies and other insects, which come to feed on tlie 

 luscious juice of the pahn. The crows, ever on tlie alert 

 when any unusual movement is in progress, keep up a 

 constant chattering and wrangling; and about this pe- 

 riod the palmyra becomes the resort of the palm-cat 

 and the glossy and gracefrd genet, which fi-equent the 

 trees, and especially the crown of the coco-nuts, in quest 

 of birds. • 



^ Ferguson's Ilonor/raph on the 

 Pah)ii/r(i,-p. yO. KELAAi{T,iii hif^FiiKtia 

 ZcyUmica, names this cat (wbich the 

 Siughalese call oocjoo-dood, and the 

 Tamils 3Iaranaya), the Paradoxiu'us 

 Tj'pus. He says it is common at 

 Colombo, lodging by day on the trees, 

 where it lies rolled up in a ball, and 

 that it lives for months in contino- 

 ment solely on vegetable food^ but 



preferring flesh, especially that of 

 birds. lie adds that the fact of its 

 consuming the toddy of the palmyra 

 is well established;' — but to me it 

 appears more probable that it resorts 

 to the palm during the time of toddy- 

 dra\^-ing for the sake of the birds, 

 which in turn are allured by the flies 

 that then abound. 



