118 NATUBAL AND ECONOMICAL HISTORY 
Europe, thatch their houses with coco-nut leaves, in the Sin- 
ghalese language called polattu. Sometimes they are deno- 
minated ollahs^ and at other times cadjans. The latter term 
has, I believe, a Malay origin. To prepare cadjans^ the cen- 
tral ligneous portion of the leaf is divided longitudinally, the 
leaflets of each half are then plaited or interwoven, by which 
means they are adapted for a variety of uses. In this state 
they are employed to thatch cottages, to shelter young plants 
from the scorching rays of the sun, to construct fences, to 
form the ceihng of rooms, and to make baskets for carry- 
ing fruit, fish, &c. Sometimes baskets are made of palm- 
leaves, so close as to serve the purpose of buckets to draw 
water from deep wells. In the Maldive Islands, bomietta, 
a species of fish, is preserved by a process in which coco- 
leaves are employed. The process consists in removing the 
back-bone, and laying the fish in the shade, occasionally 
sprinkling it with sea-water. After a certain period has 
elapsed, the fish is wrapped up in coco-nut leaves, and 
buried in sand, where it becomes hard. Fish thus pre- 
pared, is known in Ceylon, and perhaps over all India, by 
the name of cummelmus. The pieces of this fish brought 
to the market have a horny hardness. It is rasped upon 
rice, to render it savoury. 
The unexpanded leaves are employed to shew marks of 
respect to persons in power. When the Governor or Chief- 
Justice travels, lines, made of the stems of creeping plants, 
are stretched along on each side of the road, about three or 
four feet from the ground. Upon these lines young palm- 
leaves are suspended. The head civil servant of a district 
may command the inhabitants under his immediate con- 
troul to adorn the road along v/hich he passes, but he is 
not warranted in claiming this mark of attention beyond 
his own district. 
The immature leaves of the coco-nut tree have a fine 
