OF THE COCO-NUT TREE. 
129 
Ware pot into which it falls is emptied twice or thrice in 
twenty-four hours. After this operation, the pot is always 
well cleaned, then driedj and a small quantity of cliunam 
(lime) is thrown into it^ before being replaced. Sometimes 
a portion of the bark of a tree^ whose name I do not recol- 
lect, is introduced into the receiving vessel, instead of 
chunam. The lime perhaps contributes to check the pro- 
gress of fermentation. Almost immediately after the mee-ra 
is drawn from the tree, it is filtered through a portion of 
the reticulated substance found at the base of the leaf. 
The juice is then slowly boiled in an earthen- ware vessel, 
until it becomes light coloured, and acquires a considerable 
degree of consistency. While still warm, and semi-fluid, 
it is poured into sections of coco-nut shells, where it soon 
becomes solid. Twenty-four ounces of jagery may be pro- 
cured from a gallon of mee-ra. I state the quantity of 
jagery which mee-ra yields, on the authority of Mr Ber- 
ToLACCij who paid much attention to this subject. It 
would appear that mee-ra is richer in saccharine matter 
than juice expressed from the sugar-cane in the West In- 
dies. Dr MosELY, in his History of Sugar, says, We 
consider a pound of sugar from a gallon of cane-juice as 
good yielding." According to Mr Crawfurd, cane-juice 
in Javaj yields, on an average, 25 per cent, of sugar. 
Jagery contains both the crystallizable portion of the juice, 
and a quantity of molasses, or liquid sugar ; but, by a sub- 
sequent operation, they can be, in a great measure, sepa- 
rated. This coarse sugar is generally made into little 
loaves, having the shape of a hemispherical vase, from the 
form of the vessel in which it cools. It has a deep choco- 
late colour ; and, when broken, presents many clear shin^ 
ing particles of sugar. In the Malay language, jagery is 
denominated goola or goora itan (black sugar or black 
sweet.) 
I 
