241 



flISTOKY OP THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



transverse section of this part of the tree, when 

 ■well polished and varnished, has a lapide- 

 ous gloss and beauty, which rival those of an 

 agate. It is sometimes set in the lid of silver 

 snuff-boxes, in the same manner as jewellers oc- 

 casionally fix agates or cornelians ; and might be 

 found highly useful in ornamental cabinet-work. 

 Reticulated Cloth, In some parts of the 

 world, it is said a kind of cradle or couch for 

 young infants is made of the reticulated sub- 

 stance formed at the base of the leaf. In Cey- 

 lon it is there chiefly employed as an instru- 

 ment of filtration, for straining the sweet juice 

 which is extracted from the flowering spathe of 

 this tree. The Reverend Mr Cordiner, in his ac- 

 count of Ceylon, asserts, that it " is manufac- 

 tured into a durable sackcloth, called gunny, 

 which is used in making bags for transporting 

 grain," &c. ; and Captain Percival says, that it 

 is manufactured into a coarse cloth called grin- 

 jakken (ganja sakken) or gunny-cloth. Their 

 statements are erroneous ; gunny-cloth is chiefly 

 made of hemp. Gunny or Goni is not impro- 

 bably a corruption of ganja, the Ilindostanee 

 name of the hemp-plant, (cannabis sativa.J 

 Goni cloth is also made from the Agave Ameri- 

 cana. Sacks made of goni cloth are called 

 gunny-bags by the English, and ganja sakken by 

 the Dutch. 



Buds. The uncxpanded leaves or terminal 

 leaf-bud is occasionally eaten by the Europeans 

 as well as by natives. When boiled it is tender, 

 and forms a good substitute for cabbage. The 

 natives sometimes preserve it in vinegar, and eat 

 it as a pickle. It may be observed, that the tree 

 dies when this part is removed. 



Fronds or Leaves, Many of the indigenous 

 inhabitants, as well as natives of Europe, thatch 

 their houses with cocoa nut leaves, by the Singha- 

 lese calleA polattu, and sometimes cadjans. The 

 latter term has, we believe, a Malay origin. To 

 prepare cadjans, the stipe or central ligneous por- 

 tion of the leaf is divided longitudinally; the 

 leaflets of each half are then interwoven, by 

 which means they are adapted for a variety of 

 uses. In this state they are employed to thatch 

 cottages, to shelter young plants from the scorch- 

 ing rays of the sun, to construct fences, to form 

 the ceiling of rooms, and to make baskets for 

 carrying finiit, fish, &c. Sometimes baskets are 

 made of palm leaves, so close as to serve the pur- 

 pose of buckets to draw water from deep wells. 

 In the Maldive islands, honneta, a species of fish, 

 is preserved by a process in which cocoa leaves 

 are employed. The process consists in removing 

 the back bone, and laying the fish in the shade, 

 occasionally sprinkling it with sea water. After 

 a certain period lias elapsed, the fish is wrapped 

 np in cocoa nut leaves, and buried in sand, where 

 it becomes hard. Fish thus prepared is known 

 ill Ceylon, and perhaps over all India, by the 



name of cummelmvs. The pieces of this fish 

 brought to the market have a homy hardness. 

 It is rasped upon rice to render it savoury. The 

 inhabitants of several of the South sea islands 

 manufacture a kind of mask or visor of the leaves 

 of the cocoa nut tree, to defend their faces from 

 the scorching rays of the sun ; and this kind of 

 armour is said to have a somewhat pleasing and 

 gi-aceful appearance when worn by young per- 

 sons. 



The unexpanded leaves are employed to show 

 marks of respect to persons in power. When 

 the governor or chief justice travels, lines made 

 of the stems of creeping plants are stretched along 

 on each side of the road, about three or four feet 

 from the ground. Upon these lines young palm 

 leaves are suspended. The head civil servant of 

 a district may command the inhabitants under 

 his immediate control to ornament the road along 

 which he passes; but he is not warranted in 

 claiming this mark of attention beyond his own 

 district. 



The immature leaves of the cocoa nut tree have 

 a fine yellow colour and a beautiful texture, re- 

 sembling fine leather or satin. In some parts of 

 Ceylon, the natives evince great taste in orna- 

 menting triumphal arches, as also ball rooms, 

 and similar places of public resort, with the 

 leaves of this tree, and some remarkably beauti- 

 ful species of moss. As the young leaves are 

 translucent, they serve to make lanterns, in the 

 construction of which many of the inhabitants 

 are very dexterous. 



The practice of showing respect to individuals 

 by means of the branches of palm trees appears to 

 be very ancient. See Matt. xxi. 8 ; Mark xi. 8 ; 

 John xii. 13. The foliage of the palm tribe of 

 plants has been in many countries considered an 

 emblem of joy and victory ; and hence the word 

 palm is sometimes employed as a synonym of 

 victory and triumph. See Lev. xxiii. 40. It is 

 remarkable that a similar mode of showing re- 

 spect, by "waving palm branches," prevailed 

 among the aborigines of America when it was 

 discovered by Columbus. In ancient times, 

 when pilgrims resorted to Palestine, they com- 

 monly returned bearing palm leaves ; on this ac- 

 count they were denominated palmers. Captain 

 Lyon, when describing the amusements of the 

 natives of some parts of northern Africa, informs 

 us, that the dancers " were directed by an old 

 woman, with a torch in one hand, and a long 

 palm branch in the other, and sung in chorus 

 verses which she repeated to them." In the 

 island of Otaheite, the female inhabitants wear 

 bonnets constructed of the leaflets of the cocoa. 

 The leaflets are sometimes used to write upon, 

 and the instrument employed to make the im- 

 pression is an iron stylus, the pen of the scrip- 

 tures. The stylus was used by the Romans to 

 write on waxen tables, leather, &c. The leaves 



