THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Sept.  2,  1S95. 
150 
ocoaaioas,  and  also  for  burning  in  their  lamps 
‘“When  mixed  with  coconut  oil  it  gives  an  extiemely 
“good  light.  The  kings  of  Candy  use  it  for  this 
“purpose,  and  formerly  comimuided  their  subjects 
“ to  bring  them  a certaiu  quantity  as  a yearly 
'■  tribute.  When  any  ambassadors  arc  sent  to  these 
“ princes  they  always  btiru  this  oil  duiing  the  time  of 
“ audience.  ” 
There  are  no  records  extant,  nor  information  attain- 
able indicating  that  either  the  Portuguese  or  Dutch 
conquerors  manufactured  any  oil  from  the  fruits. 
Neither  during  the  early  period  of  the  Briti-h  sway, 
nor  now,  is  the  process  practised.  Perhaps  tlie  men- 
tion of  it  h re  may  lead  to  some  experiments  in 
this  line,  which  may  ultimately  result  in  a market- 
able oil. 
The  fruits  are  devoured  by  crovvs  and  other  birds, 
and  the  propagation  of  the  shrubs  in  their  wild 
state  is  due  to  these  birds,  which  swallow  the  berries, 
the  kernels  of  which,  not  dissolving  in  their  stomachs, 
are  passed  out  uninjured. 
The  Sinhalese  na  ue  for  ciunamou  is  Kurwidu,  and 
it  embraces  the  following  different  species — 
1. 
Pauey  Kurunda 
or 
Honey  Cinuamm. 
2. 
Capuiu 
1 1 
Camphor  ,, 
3. 
Seeel 
It 
IT 
Soft  „ 
4. 
Pawul 
IT 
IT 
Fiat  „ 
5. 
Kimhul 
TT 
T| 
Crocodile  ., 
6. 
Veil 
IT 
TT 
Sandy  ,, 
7. 
Nalu 
TT 
IT 
Chippy  ,, 
8. 
Kela 
IT 
IT 
Wild 
9. 
Poth  u 
II 
IT 
Strippy  „ 
10. 
Mas 
It 
TT 
Fleshy  ., 
U. 
Nika 
TT 
IT 
Lmg-leavod  like  Nika. 
Each  variety  is  characterised  by  some  quality  morj 
or  less  closely  related  to  the  name  appneJ  tj  it. 
During  the  time  of  the  Dutch  and  t e early  British 
period,  the  Government  monopo'isel  the  cinnamon 
trade,  which  monopoly  was  commonly  known  as  the 
“ Mahahadda.  ” Government  paid  every  attention  to 
the  cinnamon  department,  as  the  produce  then  was 
the  chief  source  of  revenue.  The  gardens  were  well 
protected  and  responsible  officers  appointed  to  super- 
vise the  department.  These  officers  were  “sons  of 
the  soil  ” of  distinguished  birth,  and  were  hold  in 
the  highest  esteem  by  the  Government.  Tney  had 
unlimited  powers  vested  in  them.  The  name  of 
liajapakse  Maha  Mudaliyar  may  be  mentioned  as 
one  of  them.  J.  H.  C.  makes  the  following  reference 
to  this  distinguished  chief  in  the  Saturday  Mayaziue. 
published  in  London  in  1835.  “ . . . . When 
“the  Dutch  slave  masters  agreed  to  consider  as  free, 
“ all  the  children  of  their  slaves,  this  amiable  person 
“ not  only  followed  their  example,  but  was  eveu  aux- 
“ ious  to  bestow  immediate  liberty  upon  all  slaves 
“ possessed  either  by  himself  or  by  any  of  his  relatives. 
“He  is  extremely  hospitable  to  Europeans,  a man 
“ of  extensive  information,  and  the  best  Sanskrit  and 
“ Pali  scholar  in  the  island.  The  print  represents 
“Raja  Paxa  in  the  rich  costume  of  his  country, 
“ attended  by  two  servants  bearing  umbrellas.  It  is 
“copied  from  a picture  kindly  lent  by  Sir  A'exander 
“Johnstone."  It  may  also  be  mentioned  here,  that 
this  noble  chief  was  give  i a burial  with  British 
military  honours,  a mark  of  recognition  which  no 
other  native  gentleman  had. 
Thera  are  hardly  any  landmarks  left  now  of  the 
old  cinnamon  monopoly  days.  The  “ Walawwa  ’’ 
(residence  of  a chief)  of  the  Maha  Mudaliyar  Raja- 
paksc,  and  a store  house  of  the  department,  are  now 
rejuvenated  and  are  residential  bungalows.  There 
are  no  traces  of  other  buildings  left. 
Captain  Percival,  writing  in  1805,  refers  to  the 
“Maha  Badda"  as  follows: — 
“ Each  particular  district  where  the  cinnamon  grows 
“ is  bound  to  furnish  yearly  a certaiu  quantity  of 
“ cinnamon,  proportioned  to  the  number  of  villages 
“ and  inhabitants  which  it  contains.  The  Cingalese, 
“ in  return  for  their  services,  have  each  a piece  of 
“ land  allotted  them,  rent  free.  They  are  also  cx- 
“ omptod  from  other  government  services,  and  enjoy 
“ other  privileges  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  they 
“ deliver.  Those  who  are  employed  to  bark  the  trees 
“ arc  called  ‘achajalias’  by  the  Dutch,  and  by  ua 
“ ‘cholias,’  Over  them  are  placed  officers  of  n supe- 
“ rior  cla>s,  whose  buhness  is  to  superintend  the 
“ workmen,  to  take  charge  of  the  woods,  and  to  pre- 
“ vent  cattle  and  improper  persons  from  trespassing 
“ there.  Besides  these  there  is  a set  of  officers  of 
“a  hi.^her  caste  called  cinnamon  Jfoodelicr.i,  whose 
“ business  is  to  judge  and  punish  all  smsll  offence?, 
“and  to  superintend  the  different  districts  and  villages 
“ where  the  cholias  reside.  Over  the  whole  a head- 
“ officer,  usually  known  by  the  Portuguese  name  of 
“ Captain  Canuailld,  which  means  Captain  Cinnamon. 
“ The  chief  Moodelier  receives  all  the 
“ reports  concerning  the  woods  and  the  cinnamon 
“ affairs  in  general  from  the  inferior  officers  and 
'■  transmits  t.iem  to  the  Captain,  who  is  account  ible 
‘ only'  to  the  Governor.” 
With  the  depression  in  the  market  the  department 
was  abolished,  and  the  grounds  have  been  since  sold. 
What  was  left  as  crown  land  is  leased  out,  and  gra- 
dually its  area  is  also  diminishing  owing  to  Govern- 
ment land  sales.  There  are,  however,  large  private 
blocks  still  under  cultivation,  but  it  is  feared  that 
coconuts  will  replace  the  cinnamon  before  long. 
There  are  two  crops  or  seasons  for  the  preparation 
of  cinnamon,  called  the  “Maha  Mosama ’’  and  the 
“ Kuda  Mosama,  ’’  or  the  big  and  the  small  season 
re.speotively.  The  “ Maha  Mosama  ’’  begins  in  May 
and  ends  in  August,  and  the  “ Kuda  Mosama  ” from 
the  middle  of  October  to  about  Christinas.  During 
crop  time  the  workmen  no  in  gangs  to  the  gardens 
and  cut  down  the  peelable  sticks,  which  they'  easily 
find  out  from  the  colour  of  the  leaves,  or  by  mak- 
ing an  incision  on  the  bark  of  the  tree.  The  knife 
used  for  cutting  the  sticks  is  called  the  “kettha.” 
As  the  cutters  go  on  from  bush  to  bush,  cutting 
down  the  sticks  and  putting  them  on  the  ground, 
another  gang  of  men  gather  them  into  bundles  and 
carry  them  on  their  shoulders  to  the  “waduja"or 
peeling  shed,  erected  on  a central  site.  When  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  sticks  has  been  cut  down  and 
brought  to  the  shed  the  cutters  return,  and  after 
the  noontide  meal  they  begin  peeling  operations. 
Seated  on  the  ground  with  outstretched  bare  legs, 
which  serve  as  a support  for  the  sticks,  they  peel 
the  bark  off  in  longitudinal  sections  with  a knife  of 
the  shape  of  a spatula.  They  are  remarkably  clever 
and  quick  at  the  work,  and  they  have  to  be  so,  or 
else  the  bark  would  dry  and  the  sticks  would  be 
unfit  for  peeling.  The  peeled  sticks  are  gathered  by 
boys,  and  stacked  away  in  a heap  to  be  eventually 
sold  as  firewood. 
The  bark  that  is  peeled  off  is  packed  into  blocks 
in  layers,  and  put  away  in  a cool  place  for  several 
hours,  being  occasionally  sprinkled  with  water.  It 
is  then  taken  o it  from  the  block",  and  the  outer 
skin  is  scraped  off'  with  a curved  knife.  This  is 
chiefly  done  by  women  or  boys.  A small  tripod  of 
cinnamon  sticks  about  a foot  and  half  high  is 
made.  Another  stick  about  three  feet  long  is  run 
down  from  the  apex  of  the  tripid  to  the  ground. 
On  this  stick  is  placed  t e bark,  which,  held  by 
tin  pressure  of  the  heel,  is  gently  scraped  with 
the  curved  knife.  The  bark  then  gets  to  bo  of  a 
yellowish  or  greenish  hue,  which  depends  on  the 
maturity  of  the  sticks  from  which  they  have  been 
peeled  off.  It  is  carefully  put  aside  for  a few  hours, 
and  is  then  made  into  long  quills  by  fitting  in  one 
strip  of  bark  into  another  and  tilling  up  the  inside 
with  small  pieces  of  it.  The  cleanest  and  the 
brightest  barks  are  used  for  the  outer  coverin.;  of 
the  quills,  and  the  rest  is  used  for  t le  stuffing.  As 
the  quills  are  turned  out  they  are  gently  laised 
from  the  ground,  and  are  placed  in  a stretcher 
made  of  coir  strings  and  suspendod  from  the  rooh 
The  moisture  is  thus  evaporatod  and  the  quills  get 
hardened,  and  after  a few  days  they  are  slightly 
exposed  to  the  sun  daily  until  removed  to  the 
market.  The  ends  of  the  quills  are  cut  off  to  the 
usual  length.  The  ciunamou  is  now  ready  for  sale, 
and  it  is  bundled  into  bales  of  one  hun  (rod  pounds 
in  weight,  more  or  less. 
The  unpoelablo  sticks  have  their  outer  skin 
scraped,  and  the  bark  is  chipped  off.  It  is  dried 
in  the  sun  and  “ picked ” and  “bagged.”  It  is  then 
sold  under  the  trade  name  of  “Chips.” 
