COCOA-NUTS. 227 



But soon the white cloth turns green, and is then made 

 into aprons and other garments. Age, so far from deteri- 

 orating, greatly increases its strength, and in this stage of 

 its existence it proves an invaluable friend to the native, 

 providing him with an excellent water-proof cloak " with- 

 out money and without price." 



This cloth, so strangely woven in nature's loom, is also 

 employed as a filter for toddy, as a bag through which to 

 strain cocoa-nut oil, and as a sieve for sifting arrowroot 

 and other flour. 



The leaves of the cocoa -palm are, probably, of all 

 leaves the most valuable. We have seen how, in their 

 incipient state, they are used as a vegetable ; in their next 

 stage, still unexpanded, though perfectly formed and of a 

 beautiful silver texture, white and semi-transparent, they 

 are wrought into exquisite crowns, wreaths, lanterns, and 

 valentines. 



Beautiful in their youth, they are still more useful in 

 their old age a prototype of human life. Old and with- 

 ered, their loveliness all gone, they yet furnish no despic- 

 able torches, when bound together in bundles six feet in 

 length and several inches in diameter. The torches are 

 called "chulls" in Ceylon, and if skillfully carried will 

 burn brightly for half an hour. 



The young leaves likewise furnish boys and girls with a 

 beautiful material upon which to interchange verses upon 

 certain holidays. The older leaves, after undergoing a cer- 

 tain preparation, are termed ollahs, and as such are used 

 for graven purposes letters, documents, books, and the 

 like. Neatly rolled up and sealed with gum lace, these 

 ollahs frequently pass through the post-office, sometimes 

 traveling even as far as England without injury. 



The young leaves are stronger than the old, and strips 

 of them are used for all kinds of ligatures, while the full- 



