54 

 not drink toddy, its vinous sap Is not utilized In the same 

 way as In Madras and Ceylon. 



Timber. A full-grovm palmyra palm Is from 60 to 70 feet 

 h%h, Its trunk at the bottom Is about 5 1/2 feet In circum- 

 ference. The trees have to arrive at a considerable age 

 before they are of use for timber ; when a hundred years old 

 they are excellent. The wood near the circumference when of 

 sufficient age, Is remarkably hard, black, heavy and durable, 

 and universally used for rafters In pent-roofed houses, for 

 which purpose Roxburgh states it is the best wood in India. 

 The center is soft and spongy, containing little else than a 

 coarse kind of farinaceous matter, intermixed with some soft, 

 white, woody fibres, and is cut out, as the black exterior 

 hard pa:"t only is employed. For house building and various 

 domestic purposes, the timber is the most generally used of 

 the palm tube. Pillars and posts for the verandas- of the 

 houses are made from it. Trunks split into halves, with the 

 heart scooped out, are used as spouts for various purposes, 

 but more especially for carrying away the water from the 

 eaves of houses. The dark outside wood of very old trees is 

 used to some extent in Europe for umbrella handles, v;alklng 

 canes, paper rulers, fancy boxes, wafer stamps, and other 



articles . 



Kellngoes. In Ceylon the nuts are collected and burled 

 in heaps in the ground. When dug up after the space of three 

 months, the young shoots called "Kellngoes," supply the 

 inhabitants with a nourishing aliment. In size, color and 



