Dr Cleghorn on the Coco-Nut Tree and its Uses. 179 
The chatty is attached with about a foot of line, swings clear 
of his legs as he mounts, and away from the tree, and is drawn 
up a tergo. The hook also serves to hang up the arivalpétty 
in his house. Alongside of the hook are some small iron 
ornaments, which make a jingling noise as he climbs, and 
scare away snakes and other vermin that might prove un- 
pleasant neighbours. 
A strongly plaited rope is permanently fastened to one side 
of the arivalpétty, as in Plate III. fig. 1. The short arm a 
is about half as long as b, and with a much smaller loop. 
When fastened round the waist, the longer arm is passed in- 
side the small loop of the short arm. Through the loop of 
the long arm the toddy-drawer passes the end of his waist- 
cloth, and ties it into a knot. Next in importance is the 
Eropétty (Plate III. fig. 2), into which the toddy-drawer 
empties the toddy collected in the chatty up the tree. It is made 
of palmyra fibre closely plaited, and when well moistened is 
water-tight. Two wooden collar shavings, about two inches 
broad, encircle the mouth of the eropétty, one inside and one 
outside ; between them the plaited wicker-work is run up, and 
made fast. To keep the eropétiy in its bulged bottle-like 
form, a piece of ratan about half way down is woven in, and 
encircles the vessel like the hoop of a barrel. The eropétiy 
hangs suspended over the arivalpétty (vide Plate I.) by a 
roughly-twisted rope of palmyra fibre. The eropétiy holds 
about 24 Madras measures, which make its cubic contents 
about 250 inches. In Plate III. fig. 3, is shown the Palaé 
mattai, called also Vandal mattaz. It is a little more than a 
foot long, and is made of the rachis or spadix inside the 
spathe. The end is jagged into a brush, whence its name 
palat a spathe, and mattai, a brush. Its place is in the 
eropétty (Plate Il. fig. 3). Itis used to brush away insects, 
or foreign matter floating upon the top of the toddy. It also 
serves to moisten the end of the spathe before cutting it with 
a knife. In Plate III. fig. 4, is shown the Arival or knife, 
shaped like a sickle, with the inner edge sharpened. It is 
used for trimming the spathe, and is very sharp. When not 
in the hand it is kept in the arivalpétty. The handle is of 
common wood, and about three inches long. The circle of this 
