Edible Products. 2 



tamarind tree is in our house." Though 

 this is current as a story in Bengal, to 

 bring home to the mind of our men the 

 usefulness of the tamarind, yet we can, 

 by no means, overlook the importance 

 underlying the properties of this tree. 



It has a good deal of medicinal 

 properties conducive to human health. 

 The green tamarind when eaten aids in 

 the secretion of bile and is an antidote 

 to rheumatism. The viscid substance 

 of the ripe tamarind when pasted over 

 a boil helps to bring it to head soon. 

 If applied at the top of a betel rind 

 and placed a suppositoria on the anus of 

 a child it will have the effect of loosen- 

 ing its bowels. The tamarind is required 

 for preparing confectionaries and tartaric 

 acid. A kind of medicated salt is pre- 

 pared out of its husks burnt into ashes. 

 The leaves, when applied, after it has 

 been pestled over some parts of the 

 body afflicted with pain, produce a kind 

 of soothing sensation ; the salt prepared 

 out of its ashes is a good medicine for 

 dyspepsia. 



Place some leaves in hot water, and 

 when they are well boiled put them 

 on a cloth coloured in blue, and it will 

 give a crimson hue. The silversmiths 

 in the Deccan use a kind of acid pre- 

 pared from the tamarind to brighten 

 the gloss of silver. 



The stone of the fruit is generally 

 thrown away as useless things by our 

 men. Our countrymen do not know 

 its proper use, Mr. David Hooper writes 

 in the Agricultural Ledger, 1907, about 

 the use of its stone. He says : " During 

 the time of famine the poor people 

 eat the tamarind stones." The tamarind 

 trees are mostly to be seen in Madras 

 and Central India. 



The stones of the tamarind are first 

 soaked in water for about half an hour 

 and then boiled for eating. Some fry 

 them first and then boil. When they 

 are well boiled, take off the outer- 

 covering and the kernel will give a 

 good relish when eaten. The kernel is 

 sometimes dried in the sun or fried 

 and then pulverised into fine flour. 

 Cakes or bread can be prepared from 

 this flour. 



Reports have at some places become 

 current with regard to the detri- 

 mental effects of these stones when 

 eaten. Cases have also been found 

 where these stones when eaten have 

 costiveness or gripes. We believe the 

 outer covering in these cases was not 

 removed prior to eating. It has been 

 found upon experiment that the white 

 kernel inside the stone is nutritive. 

 According to the Ayurveda system ot 



[January, 1909. 



science, these stones when pulverised 

 are used in cases of rheumatism. Accord- 

 ing to the Unani system of science, 

 the pulverised powder is used in cases 

 of ringworm. Dr. White says : " The 

 powder can be used as a poultice over 

 the boil." 



From the pestled stones, when boiled, a 

 sort of gruel is obtained, and this is much 

 used in weaving silk cloth. It is also 

 used for binding books and for making 

 leather harness. Its sticky substance 

 is again used for joining broken wooden 

 bars, etc. It has become known from 

 an account written some fifty years ago 

 in an Agri-Horticultural Journal that a 

 kind of oil was obtained from the stones 

 of the tamarind. The quantity of oil 

 obtained from the stones was small 

 compared with the labour required to 

 undergo for producing it, besides no 

 standing business has ever been heard 

 to have been lucrative from the sale of 

 this oil. 



We, however, think that an industry 

 can be easily got up in the market from 

 the stones of the tamarind ; in our 

 ignorance we throw away much of the 

 wealth lying at our door. The stones 

 can be easily brought from the villages, 

 and with the aid of an electric flour 

 machine these can be pulverised into 

 flour. A small capital is required to 

 start a business. We hope some of our 

 readers will make an experiment in this 

 line of business. — Indian Economist. 



COCONUTS IN THE DRY ZONE 

 OF CEYLON. 



By J. C. Willis. 



(Illustrated.) 

 There appears to be an impression 

 abroad that the coconut will not grow 

 in the dry country ot northern Ceylon. 

 That this is untrue may be seen by a 

 visit to any village there, where the 

 tree may be seen flourishing in the 

 neighbourhood of the tank, in which 

 place it gets a certain amount of seepage. 



A little water, but only a little, is 

 required for the successful cultivation 

 of this tree. The photographs reproduc- 

 ed with this article show the early 

 stages of cultivation on the irrigable 

 land at Maha-iluppalama Experiment 

 Station, 11 miles from Kekirawa (north 

 of Dambulla on the great North Road). 

 The younger trees occupy 27 acres on 

 irrigable land, about half a mile from 

 the tank. The seed nuts were put into 

 the nursery in August, 1907, and in April, 

 1908, they were planted out in holes of 

 3 feet cube, partly filled with soil. 



