jAN.  1,  1896.] 
THE  TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
479 
reached  by  ox-wagon,  a greater  market  has  natiually 
become  open  to  cultivators,  and  a greater  stimulus  has 
necessarily  been  given  to  the  enterprise.  One  him, 
not  only  employ  an  experienced  traveller  throughout 
South  Africa,  but  periodically  ship  parcels  of  their 
produce  to  England.  Natal  tea  has  a decidedly  char- 
acteristic taste,  but  it  is  said — and  this  is  worthy  of 
note — that,  like  Transvaal  tobacco,  the  taste  is  an  easy 
and  pleasant  one  to  acquire,  and,  when  once  acquired 
it  is  not  readily  relinqu'shed.  The  Colonial  planters 
depend  entirely  upon  coolies  for  their  labour,  and 
this  class  of  Indian  subjects  has  long  since  become 
indispensable  to  our  friends  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean,  for  a successful  development  of  many  of  their 
outdoor  industries.  In  this  conne  tiou  it  may  not  be 
inappropriate  to  mention  here  that  one  enterprising 
lilanter  lately  put  a hundred  acres  under  rice,  and 
the  result  attained  was  said  to  be  very  satisfactory 
This  was,  we  unde. stand,  an  initial  experiment,  but 
probably  more  will  be  heard  of  rice  cultivation  in 
Natal  ere  long.  Sufficient  interest  for  the  present 
attaches,  for  us,  to  the  tea  industry,  and  our  Colonial 
cousins  advance  in  this  direction  will  probably  be 
eagerly  watched  from  this  side.  It  may  be  mentioned 
that  the  plucking  season  in  Natal  commences  in 
September  and  closes  in  June,  so  they  are  now  in  the 
middle  of  their  operations.  The  official  statistics  of 
the  output  at  the  close  of  the  season  will  be  inter- 
esting.— Capital. 
TODDY  AND  THEE  TAPPERS. 
••Hrbit  is  everything.”  The  profound  wisdom  of 
the  old  savv  struck  me  very  forcibly  as  I took  my 
early  morning  ride  through  the  almost  boundless 
palmyrah  topes  which  stretch  away  inland  to  the 
hills,  on  which  the  great  blue-grey  monsoon  clouds 
are  resting  prior  to  a northern  journey,  and  on  the 
other  side  away  to  the  calm  warm  sea. 
In  and  out  betw’eeu  the  slender  trunks  of  these 
lofty  giants  jogged  the  toddy  drawer,  pole  over 
shoulder  and  with  his  “ goods  and  chattels  ” 
suspended  therefrom.  In  the  left  hand  a wooden 
crutch.  Hurrying  from  one  tree  to  another  to 
gather  into  their  plaited  baskets  the  night's  yield- 
ings.  The  average  height  of  the  trees  roundabout 
w.ts  full  3.”>  feet;  while  some  conspicuous  50  foot 
wallahs  roared  their  rustling  fan-shaped  leaves  in  all 
the  dignity  of  their  riper  years. 
[ watcliod  one  drawer.  He  ilcpositod  Irs  pole  and 
slung  baskets  at  the  tree  foot  and  placed  his  crutch 
against  the  trunk.  PTom  a hanging  side  basket 
(from  which  protruded  a forest  of  brush  and  knife 
handles)  he  withdrew  a heavy  bladeci  weapon.  It 
was  like  the  “ kookrie,”  without  a point  to  it,  and 
heavier.  A murderous  weapon.  Tiiis  he  sh.aipened 
on  the  jjole  of  the  crutch  andreplaced  in  his  basket. 
Then  he  imt  on  his  climbing  ‘‘irons’’  which  con- 
sisted of  a small  circle  of  plaited  palmyrah  leaf! 
The  crutch  gave  him  his  first  foothold,  and  then 
embracing  tbe  tapering  trunk,  up  he  went  at  a rapid 
pace.  Up  till  he  reached  lor  the  strong  fibrous 
shiny  ” mattais  ” (the  stalk  of  the  leaves)  and 
swung  himself  into  the  rustling  leaves.  Then  lean- 
ing over  here  and  there,  supporting  himself  with 
his  knee-pits,  he  emptied  the  small  chatties  into 
a division  of  side  basket — trimming  afresh  each 
spathe  before  adjusting  the  chattie,  with  his 
heavy  sharp  knife,  and  coating  each  pot  with  lime 
from  another  division  of  his  basket.  A few  rapid 
Tuovements  executed  in  the  (\\'/.zy  heights,  and  he 
was  as  rapidly  descending  the  tree.  Emptying 
the  toddy  into  one  of  the  larger  slung  baskets  he 
shoulders  his  pole,  reaches  for  his  crutch  and  off 
for  the  next  tree.  He  is  not  really  drawing  ‘‘toddy” 
but  “pathani,”  which  is  boiled  down  into  jaggery, 
for  which  he  need  take  out  no  license.  But  the 
toddy  drawer  is  doing  exactly  the  same  without  lim- 
ing the  pots,  for  that  process  prevents  fermentatioti. 
There  is  toddy  and  toildy.  The  article  freshly 
drawn,  sweet  and  cool  is  excellent,  but  the  foul  smell- 
ing fermented  cour  liquid  which  stands  in  the  big 
chatties  in  the  reeking  toddy  shops  is  as  unlike;  it 
is  a decomposed  corpse  to  a young  baby.  The  smell 
of  a much  frequented  toddy  shop  is  sufficient  to  in- 
toxicate anyone  but  a confirmed  drunkard  or  a Tamil 
fisherman.  But  it  was  not  the  “ habit”  oldrinhimj  toddy 
which  caused  the  old  saw  abovementioned  to  flash 
across  me.  It  was  the  “habit”  of  drawing  toddy, 
lor  months  on  and  the  toddy  drawer  is  engaged, 
sometimes  both  at  dawn  and  at  eve  at  other  places 
01] once  during  the  day,  in  scaling  these  tall  trees 
one  after  the  other.  A man  will  go  up  twenty  trees 
in^  an  houi  or  so,  and  then  walk  his  six  or  eight 
mile.i  to  deposit  the  toddy  in  a licensed  shop ! I 
do  not  know  what  this  would  pan  out  into  in  rais- 
ing foot-pounds  per  second,  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  result  would  be  fairly  “ tall.”  But  habit  comes 
into  the  equation,  and  how  much  are  we  to  allow  for 
that'.'  Not  quite  “everything,”  but  a good  deal. 
The  drawers  down  in  these  parts  are,  for  the 
most  part,  well  set  up;  broad  chested,  deep  and 
mu-cular  ; points  developed  doubtless  by  continu- 
ous generations  of  toddy  drawing.  Physical  de- 
velopment secured  at  the  cost  of  the  mental  dete- 
rioration of  the  drinking  community. 
Stern  and  terrible  are  the  threats  held  out  by  the 
Great  Sirkar  against  those  who  infringe  the  laws 
regulating  the  import,  export,  transport,  A'c.,  of  in- 
toxicating liquor— up  to  one  thousand  rupees— six 
months  or  both  ! And  yet  many  are  the  ways  and 
means  by  which  the  crafty  law'-breaker  evades  the 
meshes  of  the  law,  small  as  they  are.  Tapping  the 
silent  trees  at  night  and  holding  a revel  by  moon- 
light in  the  tope  is  a favourite  amusement,  and  now 
■and  then  the  merry  party  are  disturbed  by  a watch- 
ful Abkari  officer  with  his  band  of  men,  and  a rare 
game  of  hide  and  seek  goes  on  in  and  out  of  the 
old  trees  eudiug,  perhaps  in  the  offenders  planking 
down  their  five-rupee  fine  on  the  Magistrate’s  judg- 
ment, and  returning  to  their  unlawful  pleasures 
“ ek-dum.” 
The  toddy  shops  about  here  are  remarkably  uni- 
form. Usually  situated  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
they  are  conspicuous.  A regulation  T.  S.  consists  of 
an  inner  room  and  outside  three  walls  of  palmyrah 
leaves  and  a roof  and  a few  leaves  for  a carpet  Along 
one  wall  stands  two  or  more  toddy  chatties- and 
the  shop  keeper  during  the  day  is  usually  asleep 
inside!  There,  with  his  license  ready  in  a tin  case 
for  any  questiomiig  Revenue  official,  he  remains  dol- 
ing out  at  the  rate  of  2 or  3 annas  a gallon  toddy  to  the 
tlursty  souls.  And  when  the  sun  gets  low  the  little 
simp  IS  quite  animated  as  the  workers  of  the 
(lay  bring  111  their  pice  and  sit  round  di.scus.sing 
the  questions  of  the  hour.  These  are  the  mofusn 
shops.  I he  town  shops  are  less  pleasant.  They 
smell  evill}',  and  instead  of  the  happy  village  folk 
we  find  the  saturated  arrack  smelling  gaol  bird  and 
harpies  of  the  lowest  type.  The  scum  and  the  dregs 
0 the  dirtiest  of  dirty  municipalities,  and  some 
of  the  most  unfortunate  of  our  fellow  creatures. 
1 here  Uiey  sijup.t  and  drink  the  sour  rotten  liquicl 
until  night  falls,  and  they  reel  out  into  the  darken 
mg  streets  to  sleep  oft  the  fumes  against  the  morrow 
ihose  are  the  two  types  I have  met  down  here  I 
should  like  to  see  the  one  shut  up  and  the  other- 
more  frequent.  But  that  savours  of  “ Utopia  “T  ’ 
— I'lonccr.  ^ ■ 
KOSHENA  COCONUT  ESTATE  COMPANY, 
LIMITED. 
1 .m’®  '^*''^Litory  general  meeting  of  theshnre- 
hohlers  of  the  above  Company  was  held  this  nfioi-r,  ^ 
at  the  office  of  Mr  C.  E.  H.  SVino^ 
present;  Messrs.  John  Clovis  De^SHwi'  C^M^r 
K.  L.  1C  R.  Itanamalaga  CHitTt 
Colenda  ^ Ian  Chotty  and  Mr.  C.  R IT 
Mr.  .1,  Clovis  De  Silva  proposed  and  Mr.  R^L 
Itanamalaga  Chetty  seconded  the  followino 
— ihat  the  following  gentlemen  be  appointed ’ 
o,-  the  ,c„t  : uC,,.,  SyJ.J'eTIV  ‘c  i 
C Imm.almgan  and  Bastian  EernandV  S’ 
Mr.  .1.  Clovis  De  Silva  also  propXd  Thal  cfe 
beevetary  do  wsit  the  est.rte  and  report  to  the 
