394 
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER 
VI. 
.July 25, &c# 
Customs of 
the Idigariif 
or Inrawanlu, 
portions, and thus has throughout the year a regular supply and 
employment. ' 
The juice of the Elate sylvestris is extracted by cutting a deep 
horizontal gash into the stem, at some distance below the leaves, 
and then cutting towards this from below in a sloping direction. 
The juice exsudes from the pores of the sloping surface, and is col- 
lected in a notch formed at its lower extremity ; whence it is con- 
veyed into a pot by one of the divisions of the leaf, which serves 
as a gutter. According to his alertness, one man can collect the 
juice of from 30 to 50 palms. 50 good trees, or 100 very bad ones, 
give 70 Pucka Seers, or about 17 ale gallons ; and this may be boiled 
into 70 Cucha Seers of Jagory, or about 46-f-lb. At sun-rise it is 
put in earthen pots, and boiled until noon. When the ebullition 
becomes so violent as to endanger the running over of the liquor, 
it is allayed by a small quantity of the emulsion of Ricinus seed. 
Small holes are then made in the ground, and in the bottom of each 
are placed two cuttings of any twining plant. Over these are laid 
some leaves, upon which the boiling Jagory is poured. When it has 
cooled, it is lifted out by means of the projecting ends of the 
twining plant. This palm is of very little other use. Mats are 
made of its leaves, and its stem is used in building the wretched 
huts of the poorer class of inhabitants. 
The Idigas , or Idigaru , are a cast of Tel'mga origin ; and, though 
they have lost ail tradition concerning the time when they settled 
in this country, they still retain their original language. In this 
they are called Inrawanlu. They can all eat in common, but keep 
up the purity of the breed by marrying only in certain families, 
whose descent is known. Like the Shanar of Madras , their proper 
business is to extract the juice of palm trees, to make it into Ja- 
gory, and to distil it into spirituous liquors; but some few of them, 
have become farmers. They wish to be called Sudras ; but their 
claim to be of a pure descent is not acknowledged by the Brahmans , 
