8i8 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [June I, 1895. 
and saccharine matter, and arc commonly employed 
in the south of Europe for feeding hones, males, 
pigs, &c, and occasionally, in time.-; of scarcity, for 
human food. During the last lew years considerable 
quantities of them have heen imported into this coun- 
try and used for feeding cattle ; hut although they 
form an agreeable article of food, they do not possess 
much real nutritive property, the saccharine matter 
belonging to the class of foods termed carbonaceous 
or heat-givers, the seeds alone possessing nitrogenous 
or flesh-forming materials, and these are so small 
and hard that they are apt to escape mastication. 
They form one of the ingredient'! in the mucb-v&un- 
ted cattle-foods at present so extensively advertised, 
the green tint of these foods arising from this ad- 
mixture. Some years ago they were sold by chemists 
at a high price, and were used by singers who im- 
agined that they softened and cleared the voice. 
By fermentation and distillation they yield a spirit 
which retains the agreeable llavour of the pod. Be- 
sides the name Carob-beans, these nods are also 
commonly called Locust-pods, or St. John's Bread, in 
consequence of its having once been supposed that 
they formed the food of St. John in the wilderness 
but it is now more generally admitted that the locusts 
of St John were the animals so called and which are 
at the present day used as food in Eastern countries. 
There Is more reason, however, for entertaining the 
belief that these pods were the husks mentioned in 
the parable of the prodigal son. The small seeds 
are said to have been the original carat weight used 
by jewellers —Ed. T.A.] 
MANY-HEADED COCO PALMS. 
Negoinbo, April 28. 
Dear Sir, — In re " double or many luaded coconut 
palms" and your desire to have additions to the 
list already published by yon. There are two palms 
on Kimbulapitiya estate belonging to Mr. Schroder 
of Wester Seaton, worth being mentioned. One is 
a three-headed palm, all three heads in full bearing. 
The other is a group of three palms growing out 
of one nut, about three years old and looking quite 
healthy— Yours truly. "KIMBUIiA." 
[Dr. D. Morris of Kew, who recently pub- 
lished a pamphlet on the subject, will be interested 
in all the information we ran gather. — Ed. T.A.I 
CEYLON FIBRES IN REQUKST. 
April 27. 
g IB) — 'With reference to your leader on this subject, 
it is a matter for regret that the descriptions of 
the specimens of fibres received by you from London 
are so vague, and that the scientific names of the 
plants which yielded them were not given.* 
Specimen 1 is described as 'bamboo.' The time Bam- 
boos (Bambusse) have L Jen long known and used as 
producers of a paper fibre. As a material for textile 
purposes, however, bamboo fibre has no value, though 
Spons mentions that attempts were made (it is not 
known with what result) in Brazil to utilize it 
mixed with wool and silk. The bamboo may be said 
to be a fibre plant in a third sense, viz., as yield- 
ing material for the manufacture of mats, baskets, 
blmds, fans, &o. There are some who may object 
to the last-mentioned functions entitling a plant to 
be called a fibre plant, but Dr. Watt gives his 
authority to this use of the expression.^ It is 
therefore important to know for what object the 
fibre of a plant is utilized. So as to make it clear, 
in what form the so-called fibre is required ? Again 
there are some plants which are only capable of 
yielding fibre fit for mats and baskets ; others, what 
is also fit for cordage, others again, what is fit, in 
addition to the previously mentioned uses, also for 
textile purposes and paper-making. 
The term " Bamboo," as I have already indicated, 
is extremely vague. The name is strictly applicable 
* The object of the writer was not to get exactly 
the same fibres ; but that others allied from bamboo, 
banana, pine-apple, &c., should be experimented with 
and samples sent on to the London referee.— Ed. T.A.J 
to the Bambnsop, but is often made to include 
Arundinariu, Oxvtenanthera and a number of other 
genera. True from the fibre mrrchaut's point of 
view it is immaterial from what plant flfg fibre he 
requires is obtained. Still it would have been far 
more satisfactory to those who desire to supply the fibre 
to know the particular plant winch produced the 
sample. 
•' Pia " is another vague local name for a fibre said to 
be - ' probably from a Banana or Mu»a. Au„ IJscuh iitttm 
or similar plants. What is Am,,! /•;*< itlrntuut, and who 
has seen its fibre? Neither the name nor the use 
of this plant are known to me. 
No. 8. — Skin of a palm leaf. This is certainly an 
odd description! Jtut what palm'.' 
It is gratifying, however, to know that samples of 
these fibres have accompanied the meagre descriptions. 
I have myself been looking a litle closely into the 
fibre question of late, and had I known tliat there 
was a referee for fibres at the Imperial Institute 
I should have spared myself the trouble of going 
in a round-about manner to get an opinion 
on some fibres that I have had extracted and 
despatched to Europe. I am strongly of opinion 
that the Coylon Government should facilitate the 
collection, preparation and despatch of all the fibres 
that can be produced by Ceylon plants, to the Im- 
perial Institute, particularly after the good prospects 
which are held out for Ceylon fibres. By the bye. 
what has become of the local Committee of the 
Imperial Institute f I would suggest that this body 
should make a complete collection of Ceylon fibres 
during the next 3 or 4 months and send it to the 
Imperial Institute through the local corresponding 
Secretary to be reported on by the fibre referee. 
But I am just reminded of the fairly representa- 
tive collection of fibre specimens at promt in the 
Ceylon Court of the Imperial Institute ! Has the referee 
not seen this collection, or has it heen damaged or 
spoilt and so become unfit for pronouncing an 
opinion on ? I find from Dr. Trimen's catalogue of 
exhibits from Ceylon at the Imperial Institute that 
there are over twenty distinct kinds of fibre, some 
of which are little known and used even in Ceylon. — 
I am, yours faithfully, X. 
TEA IN CEYLON AND OUR LABOUR 
SUPPLY. 
April 28th. 
Dear Sir, — With regard to the Cooly question, it 
is perhaps just as well that coolies are not more 
plentiful, as, if everyone got what he wanted, Ceylon, 
for tea alone, could absorb with ease, 2.500 more 
coolies; and these, at a moderate estimate, would give 
an increased yield of 10,000.000) b. of tea per annum 
and then, where would prices be '! The yield of tea 
is bound to increase slowly every year owing to the 
scarcity of labour, both in India and Ceylon, and in 
this lies the chief safeguard against very low prices. 
Ceyloa yield increased very rapidly owing to the 
coffee labour being available, but that supply is at 
an end now. There is usually an outcry every year 
during the good plucking months, while, during the 
S.-W. Monsoon, some estates work 3 and 4 days a 
week, and then expect their coolies to turn out 
regularly when wanted after they have got accus- 
tomed to loafing habits ; if all coolies turned out 5 
or 6 days a week there would be less outcry for 
coolies. I have known estates where the average 
outturn, was not more than 50% of the force on the 
checkroll, and, if advances were calculated on the 
average outturn they would be appalling on such 
estates. Those who are paying B-50 and upwards for 
coolies will eventually be landed with bad debts as 
who is to take on these coolies from them. Such 
gangs with big debts rarely reduce tbem, but the re- 
verse, as being hopelessly indebted they do not turn out 
to work well and unless 6 days' work is given regularly 
all the year round, they have not the chance. The 
latest employer of such gmgs will have to drop 
the advance or a portion of it. Even now, there 
are estates with not more than £'10 to 20 out per 
cooly and quite as well off for coolies as their 
