86 HOW I KILLED THE TIGER. 



baskets (both fancy and plain), into fans, combs, 

 brooms, screens, buckets and lanterns; into arti- 

 cles of dress, and into leaf books, torches and 

 fuel. The foot-stalks of the fronds are fibrous 

 but brittle, and are used as brooms. The roots 

 of the tree are chewed as a substitute for betel- 

 nut. One of the beverages known to Europeans 

 as " palm wine " or " toddy " is obtained from 

 the flower spathes. Before the flowers have ex- 

 panded, the spathes and these are themselves 

 astringent, and are used medicinally are tied 

 with the young leaves, and then cut transversely 

 from the top downwards, and beaten daily with 

 the handle of the knife or a piece of hard wood, 

 and the sap, after a few days, exudes into a cala- 

 bash or earthen pot. In the early morning, this 

 is a pleasant, refreshing drink, but it ferments 

 towards night, and becomes an intoxicating 

 fluid. 



The native method of making cocoa-nut oil is 

 very simple. The kernel having been removed from 

 the shell and dried, is subjected to pressure in a 

 mill, and the oil is expressed. Two quarts of oil 

 may be procured from fourteen or fifteen cocoa- 

 nuts. When fresh, the oil has an excellent flavour. 

 It is used as an ungent on the bodies of the 

 natives after bathing, and as an oil for the hair. 

 It is employed as a lamp oil, and is manufactured 



