ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 179 



1 Apes,' was the reply, and the expression of his face told 

 me that he knew it ! 



If the bringing in of wild honey was somewhat unpleasant 

 to watch, other items of forest work were prettier, notably 

 the collecting of silk-cotton, as it is called, a silky substance 

 attached to the seeds of the Bombax indica, a magnificent 

 forest tree, soft-wooded, with glossy green leaves and 

 blossoms of pale primrose. Lovely stuff it is, like floss 

 silk itself. I have cushions now filled with my own gather- 

 ing. This cotton is in exhaustless demand, and is therefore 

 one of the most valuable products of the low-country forests, 

 where at the proper season the ground is covered with the 

 bursting seed-pods, scattering their snow in all directions. 



The native method of teasing the cotton out after husking 

 is simple enough, and thoroughly effectual. It is bundled 

 loosely into closely-woven wicker baskets the shape of a 

 hen-coop, and some five or six feet across. At the top is 

 a small aperture just large enough to work a stick about 

 when inserted. The stick, which has two cross-bits at the 

 lower end, is twirled rapidly between the hands so that the 

 movement sends the cotton flying, loosening every curl — 

 the cotton is very short — while none can escape. For 

 mattresses to be taken to pieces and their stuffing fluffed 

 out in this way and made up again occasionally is quite a 

 usual practice — where mattresses are used at all, that is ; 

 for in some places a very fine description of grass mat laid 

 upon the wire spring, a thick rug being thrown over the 

 latter, was the most comfortable, because the coolest, bed 

 of any. Pillow-cases of grass matting were very delightful 

 too ; I will not call them luxuries, for they were a necessity 

 if any sleep was to be obtained. They afforded a sense of 

 refreshment even in the most exhausting weather, when a 

 wet bath-towel had to be pinned to the already low-hanging 

 punkah to wave within a few inches of one's face ; but the 

 towel did not keep damp very long. Of course, there is 



