Sept, i, i 897. 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
265 
THE VALUE OF KAJU (CASHEW) NUTS. 
Galle, August 2. 
Sir, — K'ljii nuts being lookel upnn and classed 
fiuits of inferiority which grow in jungles, iheir use- 
fulness and intrinsic wsrth are lost to ths detriineut of a 
good trade. They will contrast fiv.irablv withminya 
fruit tree which adorns g.irdens and plant itions. 
If the good uses th it are made and can be made 
of the kaja nuts were more geueraily known, they 
would be sure to a rest the attention of enterprising 
agriculturists. How largely have they alre.idy t -keu 
the place of abn )nds in the prepar.rtion of cakes and 
a variety of other confectionery. The pu-tiility in 
which tnese nuts were held by some Civil Servants 
of old, can be im.igined by the fact of their hiving 
been frequently applied for from England. Mr. Cripps, 
the Government Agent of the Southern Province, after- 
leaving the Service had an agent in Galle, in the 
person of the late well-kno.vn Mr. Adam de Zilva, 
who at the request of the former sent, I uaders and, 
ft supply of roasted nuts properly skinned by the 
monthly mail steamers of the P. & 0. Company. The 
late talented Dr. Sortain of B.atticaloa, having doubt- 
less perceived that some medicinal property was to be 
found in the juice of the fruit, tried some scientific 
experiment to ascertain its virtue, but with what re- 
sult 1 am not aware. 
In no other part of the islard in which I have 
been stationed or travelled have I seen kaju Tees 
grow so luxuriantly and to bear so abundau' ly as in 
B.itticaloa. They appear to grow like mushrooms in 
some places and within S or 3J years begin to be.ar. 
The soil seems peculiarly adapted for its growth. 
There are l.rrge tracts of land in the vicinity of 
coconut estates atrd in other places and Crown lands 
abandoned as unfertile. All these can profitably be 
utilised for the cultivation of the kaju p ant, if 
people can only be made to realise the hidden value 
that is to be found in the produce of this despised 
plant. 
Large quantities of kaju nuts are anually exported 
to .Jaffna and Baduila, while the latter station sends 
in as large a supply of gallnuts to Battioaloa, for 
shipment to other districts. The use aud value of 
gallnuts are sufficiently well-known to need any re- 
commendation to encourage their cultivation, but not 
so with the kaju nut, as far as my observation will 
warrant me to speak with any degree of assurance. 
The day, I think, is not far distant when the kaju 
tree will rise to assert its superiority over many other 
indigenous plants of our island. TRAVELLER. 
CASHEW-NUT TREE-FHUIT, &c. 
August 6. 
Sill,^Tr iveller’s letter on Cashew nuts {Aancar- 
diuni Occidentale) is interesting. The kernel of the 
nuts as he says, is used in many ways. Before the 
nuts are matured the natives pluck and cut and eat 
the kernel — the nuts are also roasted and the kernel 
eaten — but kota cashew (the sun dried nuts) are the 
most appreciated and deservedly so, as they are 
delicious and used very largely in the manufacture 
of cakes aud numerous other “ sweets.” They take 
the place of almonds and by many they a.v.e consi- 
dered superior to almonds, they are more milky and 
have not the bitter taste of some almonds. 
To the European palate too they are very accept- 
able, some of ths old residents appreciate them very 
much. It is said that in olden times, a Com- 
mander ^'f a Portuguese vessel spent the whole pro- 
ceeds of the sale of his vessel in the purchase of 
kota cashew nuts and jaggery, of which he was 
passionately fond ! In the Western Province the 
cashew trees are getting scarce — the old cinnamon 
ga-.-dens used to be full of them, but they arc fast 
dying ont as the cinnamon is being cleared. In the 
interior the trees are felled for fuel. T e process 
adopted is when a tree ’S cnl down to bury all the 
wood for a short time, then dig it up and chav tite 
branches — the charcoal thus obtained is lai-aeiy used by 
blacksmiths and is said to be an excellent substi- 
26 
tute for imported coals — the fire kindled being hot 
and uniform. The secret of cooking a juicy beef 
steak on a gridiron locally is the use of cashew 
nut coals ! C. 
TEA PACKING ANT) BULKING: No. L 
August o. 
Sir,— Many a fciin j and oft have T perused with 
lileasure tiro letters of our ((uondani planting 
friend John Hiiniltoii, but liis late.st epistle 
sni.acks so much of the Broker, I begin to feai 
all his old iilanting instincts have become ab- 
sorbed or are ont of date. 
Most Tea Factories worthy of tiie name employ 
machine packers nowadays, and with these it is 
next to impossilile to put more tea into a chest 
than it can comfortably e intain. 
Final liring is no ab.soliue necessity in a moist 
climate like this as no matter liovv airtight our 
bins may be the teas are apt to lose ciispnessj 
during the two or three week.S it usually takes 
to make up a snHici ntly large break to please 
those London people. Bulking is usually done after, 
a.s well as prior to this operation and if done 
properly there should be no unevenness about it. 
That there must be some donkey amongst us 
however, is evident, or tliere would never be such 
a variance as 6 to 8 lb. on the gross weight of a 
package in any one grade, but why damn the 
crowd on account of one or two black sheep who 
could so easily be liuiig up for public execration 
by our London friends.— Yours faithfully, 
F. 
No. II 
5th August 1897. 
Dkar Sir, — In those days of low prices it 
will indeed be a serious matter for Ceylon 
Planters if bulking in London is insisteil on 
by tlie buyers, and we all owe our thanks to 
Mr. Hamilton and yourself, for calling attention 
to the matter. 
With rcfecence to his remarks re OVERPACK- 
ING, it alw.ays struck me as a weak point in 
tlie advertised recommendations of packing 
niacliines that so much MORE TEA could be got 
into a chest with, than without a packer. And 
unless .a packer was used in the London Ware- 
house it needs follow that either part of the 
excess would be left out to .swell the “ sweepings , 
or be crushed into the chest by porters’ boots, 
causing complaints of “Dusty and Broken.” 
As to final firing causing unevenness. If the 
Tea is .sliglitly rebulked aftei final firing this 
need not occur. Mr. H. seems to consider final 
firing a mistake, but would not tea taste very 
tlab, if nothing more, if sent home without being 
final filed. That is tea kept for a few weeks 
in the factory before jracking. Packing day by 
day does not admit of bulking.— Yours faithfully, 
BULKING P.ASSED IN LONDON. 
n C A C M U Q Q essay describing a really 
ULnlnCuDi genuine Cure for Deafness. 
Ringing in Ears, Ac., no matter how severe or long- 
standing, will be sent post free.— Artificial Ear- 
drums and similar appliances entirely superseded 
.Vdilress THOMAS KEMPE, VICTORIA CitAM. 
RTjis, 19, Southampton Buildings, Holiiorn, 
London. 
