MIXOR PRODUCTS OF CEYLOX 523 



is valued at about 15,000 (the price varying according to quality 

 from 25s. to 50s. per c\vt.), and of palmyra laths, 3,840. 



In the East the Palmyra palm ranks next in importance to 

 the Coconut among palms, and the acreage under cultivation in 

 Ceylon alone is estimated approximately at 40,000 acres, while that 

 in Tinnevelley is said to be about 60,000 acres. It is propagated 

 from seed, which is sown /'// situ in holes made in sandy soil. 

 In about 8 to 10 years from sowing, the palms should be in flower, 

 when thev may be used for drawing toddy and making sugar ; 

 the total outlay in ten years for bringing the trees into bearing 

 is usually estimated at Rs. 14 per acre. When grown for the 

 fruit, an average return of about 3,500 nuts per acre may be 

 obtained. At the end of eighty years the value of the stems 

 (for timber, etc.) is considered to be about 40 or more per acre. 



Sappan-wood. Pattangi, S. (Caesalpinin Sappan. Leguminosae). 



A large straggling spiny shrub or small tree, indigenous to India 

 and Malaya, introduced and naturalised in the moist low-country 

 of Ceylon. The reddish heart-wood yields a red dye, and is 

 exported to some extent from Ceylon ; the amount exported 

 has dropped from 11,099 cwt. in 1908 to 4,758 cwt. in 1912, the 

 latter being valued at about 1,152. Sappan-wood realises 

 locally from Rs. 35 to Rs. 40 (say 2'13'6) per ton. 



Sugar-Cane. Uk-gas, S ; Karambu, T. (Saccharum officituinun. 

 Gramineaj). A tall grass or reed, reaching a height, in cultivation, 

 of 8 to 12 ft. or more, found in a cultivated state in all tropical 

 countries, in some extensively grown for the sake of the sugar 

 obtained from the thick succulent stems. The Sugar-cane has 

 been grown for sugar from time immemorial. The chief countries 

 of cane-sugar production now are Mauritius, the Guianas, Java, 

 Hawaii, India and the West Indies. The plant requires a hot 

 humid climate, alternating with dry periods, and thrives best 

 at low elevations on flat or sloping land, with porous sandy-loam 

 or alluvial soil, the presence of a certain proportion of lime 

 being essential ; it flourishes, however, on any ordinarily good 

 soil, provided the necessary moisture is available. The crop 

 is an exhausting one, and manuring is indispensable. Propagation 

 is by cuttings, which, being selected from the upper joints of 

 the canes, are cut in lengths of 8 to 10 in. (including 3 or 5 joints) 

 and placed in lines or trenches, 10 to 12 in. deep and V-shaped 

 in section. The cuttings are inserted two or three together, 

 a few inches apart, in a slanting direction, and covered with 



