522 MIXOR PRODUCTS OF CEYLON 



strychnine, valued in medicine as a tonic and stimulant. The 

 amount of these seeds exported from Ceylon in 1909 (all to 

 England, Germany, and America) was 782 c\vt., valued at 239, 

 while in 1912 the export fell to 21 cwt. The globular fruit is of 

 the size of an orange, yellow when ripe, and contains a mass of 

 soft pulp, upon which monkeys and certain birds feed. 



Orchella-weed. (Roccella Montague/). A pale geenish-grey 

 lichen, with flaccid ribbon-like fronds, found growing in the hot, 

 dry districts of Ceylon, close to the coast, specially on sea-shore 

 rocks. The plant is collected, dried and exported for the purpose of 

 manufacturing litmus, orchil, etc. The value of Orchella-weed 

 exported from Ceylon in 1909, to Belgium only, was given 

 as Rs. 50. u Fair Ceylon Orchella" is quoted at about 15s. per cwt. 

 in London. The demand for this is limited, and the collection of 

 the plant is now scarcely a profitable industry. 



Palmyra Palm; "Tal-gas," $.; " Panna-maram," T. (Borassus 

 flabellifer. An erect dioecious palm, 60 to 70 ft. high, with a 

 stout trunk and fan-shaped leaves, indigenous to the dry region 

 of Ceylon, India, and Africa. It is naturally suited to a rather 

 dry climate, and is extensively cultivated in India, Burma, Malaya 

 and in the dry northern parts of Ceylon, more especially for the 

 sake of the fruit and leaves ; these and other parts of the palm 

 are put to numerous uses, like the Coconut-palm in the humid 

 districts. The large black fruits ("nuts") are borne in a cluster 

 at the base of the leaves ; they contain a refreshing sap, much 

 relished as a cooling drink ; the soft kernels of young fruits are 

 much used as an article of food, being sold in Ceylon in large 

 quantities at the bazaars during the months of April and May. 

 The copious sap obtained from the flower spathes is collected 

 and either used for drinking as toddy (unfermented), or fermen- 

 ted and distilled for producing arrack (an intoxicating spirit) ; 

 otherwise it is boiled down for making sugar or jaggery. The 

 period of tapping for toddy extends from 1 to 3 months in the dry 

 hot season, and the yield of the liquid varies from 30 to over 100 

 gallons per tree, or from 3 to 4 bottles a tree per day. The young 

 leaf blades are used for making fans, baskets, buckets, ola, etc. ; 

 while the leaf -stalks and mid-ribs furnish an excellent brush -fibre, 

 which forms an article of export. To obtain the latter, the trees 

 are stripped of all but three leaves once in two years. The trunk 

 yields a hard and most durable timber, and the husks are in 

 demand for fuel. The annual export of palmyra fibre from Ceylon 



