96 THE PALMS OF ASIA. 



to be dried before the oil can be expressed. 

 Into the pits or ditches the husk is flung, and 

 left in water for ten or fourteen days, when it is 

 removed, and beaten out on stones, to free the 

 v'oody elastic fibre from dirt and useless vege- 

 table matter. This is a most disagreeable opera- 

 tion, for the stench from the half putrid husks 

 is very strong. The fibre, after being well 

 dried on the sandy ground, undergoes a rude 

 assortment into three qualities, in reference 

 chiefly to colour, and is then delivered over to 

 the ropemaker, who works it up into yarn, 

 rope, or junk, as required. Freed from their 

 outer covering, the nuts are either sold for 

 making curries, in which they form a prominent 

 feature, or they are kept for drying ready for 

 the oil mill. 



" Having learned this much, I strolled through 

 the neat small field, and along a patch of guinea 

 grass, to see what was going on in that direc- 

 tion. The neat-looking building adjoining was 

 the superintendent's bungalow ; and the long 

 sheds and open spaces in their front and rear 

 were for drying the nuts into what is called 

 copperaJi, in which state they are ground up for 

 pressure. It was a busy scene, indeed, and the 

 operations rec^uire constant vigilance on the 

 part of the manager ; yet all the Avork is car- 



