COCOA-NUT IN MALABAR. 105 
“to be seen between the officers’ houses, surrounding the can- 
tonments in every direction, and extending in the distance as 
far as the eye can reach ; and the cantonment may be said to be 
imbedded in a forest of these trees.” But it is abundant every- 
where, and in many places forms a belt along the whole coast. 
The majority of the houses on the Malabar coast are roofed 
with Cadjan—that is, with the dried leaves of the Cocoa-nut— 
which resist the rain better than tiles ; but the roofs should be 
fresh thatched before the accession of the rainy season. 
The average produce of Cocoa-nuts in the whole of Malabar 
is estimated at from 300 to 400 millions annually, which are 
valued at half a million of rupees ; but in addition to this, from 
20,000 to 25,000 candies of Copra ‘(or the dried kernels) are 
exported, valued at 400,000 rupees. 
The Cocoa-nut flourishes on the coasts of the southern pro- 
vinces of the Indian peninsula, and succeeds on many parts of 
the western coast of the Bay of Bengal, as well as in the 
southern parts of that province. It also succeeds well on the 
eastern coasts of that bay, though the cultivation has not been 
carried on in the former Burmese territories to the extent of 
which the coasts are susceptible, nor even to the degree which 
the people require for their own consumption, as considerable 
quantities have long been imported from the Nicobar Islands. 
The trees are said to begin to produce fruit in the eighth, and 
to be in full bearing in the twelfth year after planting, and 
yield from eighty to a hundred nuts annually. But this is 
probably above the average. 
Mr. Baumgarten, in a paper on the agriculture of Malacca 
(‘ Journ. Indian Archipelago,’ iii, p. 710), while considering 
what kinds of cultivation are most inviting, states that those 
of an indigenous kind claim a preference, such as the Cocoa- 
nut, Betel-nut, Sago, and Kabong,! with the usual variety of 
fruit trees found in the Dusans of Malacca. He further states, 
that “ supposing a planter purposes opening a Cocoa-nut plan- 
tation, he should choose a gently sloping or level surface, with 
a portion of swampy land in its vicinity for a paddy-field for 
food for the labourers.” ‘The Malays,” he says, “ bestow 
1 All these are Palms; and of them, Cocos nucifera and Areca Catechu are no 
doubt the first two. The Sago tree is probably Sagus levis, and the Kabong, 4renga 
sacchartfera. 
