528 



THE XOETIIERX FOEESTS. 



[r.vRT IX. 



the imiiimerable benefits derived by tlie natives of 

 Ceylon from tlieii' precious palm ; which supphes at 

 once shelter, fiuiiiture, food, drink, oil, and fuel for 

 themselves ; with forage for their cattle, and utensils 

 for their farms. No single production of nature, not 

 even the coco-nut itself, is capable of conferring so many 

 blessings on mankind in the early stages of ci^"ihsation ; 

 and hence that outbm^st of simple gratitude in which 

 it has been exalted by the Tamils into an object of 

 veneration, and celebrated in songs as a tree trans- 

 planted from Paradise. 



At about eight miles from Elephant Pass we found 

 om' tent pitched in the forest near Palai, in the imme- 

 diate ^■icinity of the numerous coco-nut plantations, 

 wliich have been recently opened in this di\ision of Jaffna. 

 The cultivation of this palm on . the sea-coast of Ceylon 

 was commenced by Em^opeans, about the same tune 

 that plantations of coffee began to be opened in the 

 mountain ranges of the interior. The suitabihty of 

 Jafiiia for its growth attracted attention about the 

 year 1842, and between that and the present time 

 more than ten thousand acres of government land 

 have been purchased and partially planted, and upwards 

 of fifty estates are now under cultivation, in the district 

 of Pachelapalle. 



For some years after the estabhshment of coco-nut 

 ^plantations on a large scale, the high value of coco-nut 

 oil promised to render the speculation extremely re- 

 munerative in its results ; but of late years the enter- 



o//rt." — Dec. i. torn. i. pt. ii. lib. ix. 

 ch. iii. p. 322. The leaves are called 

 Old in the Tamil poem of Ai-unacha- 

 1am on the Palmyra. 



To prepare the olas for -writing, 

 the leaf of the palm is taken while 

 tender, and the flat portions being 

 cnt into strips and freed from the 

 ribs and woody tendons, are boiled 

 and aftei-wards di-ied, first in the 

 sliade and aftei-wards in the sun. 



In this state they ai-e called by the 

 Singhalese karah-ola, and applied to 

 the more ordinaiy pui-poses. But a 

 still finer description, called Pusk-ola, 

 is prepai-ed in the temples by the 

 Samanera priests and novices, who, 

 after damping the karakola, draw it 

 tightly over the shai-p edge of aboard, 

 so as to remove all inequalities and 

 render it polished and smooth. (See 

 Vol. I. p. 510-513.) 



