61 



Edible Products. 



of the odiyals find their way from Batticaloa into the Jaffna market. In Batticaloa 

 it is the coconut estate proprietors who turn maniocca to account in this way. 

 I commend the cultivation of maniocca and the drying of the roots wholesale 

 to the estate owners of Pallai, Punaryn and Vadamaradchi East- These odiyals 

 keep in good condition for a year or more. 



As regards its use as food, maniocca in the Eastern Province is also con- 

 verted into soup and into kanji mixed with syrup. In the East Indies it has 

 further uses such as the preparation from it of cassareep unknown in Ceylon 

 which are fully described in Sir E. im Thurn's book. It is, I believe, a Avholesome 

 food, and although Sir E. im Thurn refers to one result which is supposed to be due 

 to a cassava diet in South America, viz., orbus veteribus notus, "the globe known 

 to the ancients,"* I do not think that this result has been observed in Ceylon. 



The yield per acre in the Eastern Province is estimated to be between 

 Rs. 60 and Rs. 90. There are 1,000 beds per acre, and each bed brings in from 6 to 9 

 cents. Traders buy the produce of the beds wholesale at the clearings and make a 

 substantial profit out of the transaction, as they retail the yam in the bazaars at 

 1£ to 2 cents a pound. It is a popular food in the Eastern Province, and along with 

 kurakkan and Indian coi n it has tided over many a season of scarcity and famine. 

 I should like to see it and Indian corn do the same in those parts of the Northern 

 Province which comprise the larger portion of it,+ where the people periodically 

 suffer from the failure of their crops. 



With reference to Mr. Byrde's paper, both varieties of the sweet maniocca, 

 the pink and the white, are found in Jaffna, the latter being the more common. 



His statement that the quality of cassava is affected by the species of trees 

 grown near it is curious, and it would be interesting to learn whether it is confirmed 

 iu the experience of members of the Agricultural Society and by scientific investi- 

 gations. The kokkaddi tree is the Garcinia spicata, sometimes called the wild orange. 



(Anne'xure A.) 



Letter from M. Thomas Nauel, Commandant of the Wanny, to His Excellency 



J. W. Van De Graaf. 

 {Translated from the Dutch Records.) 



Moeletivoe, 21st June, 1792. 

 Hon'ble Sir,— 1 had the honor of receiving your Excellency's letter of the 

 2nd instant together with a Singhalese and Tamul translation of a description of 

 the Manioc root, and I have caused copies of the same to be circulated among the 

 inhabitants here. As soon as the plant is introduced from Mannar, I shall from 

 time to time report to your Excellency how the cultivation of it thrives. I believe 

 that but little expense will be required to promote its growth, and I shall strongly 

 recommend it to the attention of the inhabitants of this district, but I doubt 

 whether they will bestow much labor upon it, as there are two kinds of roots 

 growing in the jungle at this place, which afford the inhabitants subsistence in 

 years of great drought and scarcity. I have myself sometimes used them instead 

 of Potatoes. The Malabars call them ' : Allekalenga ' $ and ' Kawelee Kalenga';§ 

 the former grows to the height of from 4 to 5 feet and to the thickness of about 

 6 or 7 inches and sometimes more, and the latter though knotty differs very little 

 in size from the other. 



* See Annexure E. 



t At Mahamayilankulam in a Sinhalese village near Vavuniya I saw some maniocca aiid Indian 

 corn growing in some of the compounds. 



£ Allai kilanku. gKavalai-kilanku. 



