440 THE LACCADIVES AND THE WEST COAST. 
there is a difference; besides the coir and nuts, the cocoa- 
nut tree yields, when the crown is tapped, a sweet and 
nutritious beverage, which is much in favor with the peo- 
ple, and as they are strict Mahometans is always drunk un- 
fermented. In other parts of India it is fermented and converted 
into a powerful arrak, here what is not drank when fresh, is 
boiled down and forms a richly saccharine mollasses. 
In the British Islands, but little of this mollasses or jaggery 
is made; in the other islands, a very considerable quantity is 
made sufficient, in fact, to supply the British Islands also, 
which together, boast a population of only about 3,800 souls, of 
whom more than 2 ,000 belong to Amini. 
I may perhaps say a few words about the coir manufacture, 
as that produced at all our islands, except Amini, is some of 
the very best in the world. 
Cocoanut trees in these islands get into full bearing accord- 
ing to situation and soil in from 8 to 20 years, and continue 
in full bearing, it is said, from 60 to even 100 years. 
A first-class cocoanut ae ee ought to throw out a fresh branch 
bearing nuts each month, and each branch ought to yield from 
15 to 20 nuts, but from one accident or another, scarcely any 
tree really throws out more than 10 bunches in the year, and 
trees, that have actually produced as many as 200 perfect and 
mature nuts in one year, are extremely rare. 
Practically, taking the trees all round in the four islands, 
they do not average more than 80 nuts a piece per annum. 
The nut is perfectly ripe, and the kernel in the best condition 
for yielding oil at twelve or thirteen months, but for coir, it 
does not do to let them remain so long on the tree, and they 
are cut at about the end of the tenth month. The husks are 
then split off from the nuts, and are allowed to soak in the 
sea-water of the lagoons for about a year; they are then 
taken up, the fibre is easily separated from the woody portion 
of the husk by beating, and is twisted into a yarn by hand 
by the women. 
If the nuts are allowed to ripen fully, the coir is coarse 
and extremely difficult to separate from the woody tissue. 
Again, if the soaking process is not continued long enough, the 
coir fibres cannot be thoroughly separated, while, if it is too 
long continued, the fibre is weakened and discolored. 
In Amini they have no lagoon suitable for soaking the husks, . 
and this process has, therefore, to be carried on inland in fresh- 
water pits, the result being that the Amini fibre is neither 
so strong nor nearly as well colored as that from the other 
islands. It takes about 30,000 nuts to make one ton of 
coir. 
