Vegetables of Ceylon. 331 
then take off the leaves and put them into a vessel or kettle to 
boil, to extract the juice which has all the properties of that 
of the China tea leaf. Several of my friends have assured me 
that the tea was looked upon as far from being bad, consi- 
dering the little preparation it underwent. The soldiers of the 
80th made use of it in this manner on beinji informed of its 
virtues and quality by the J2d regiment whom they relieved. 
Many preferred this tea to coffee. I have in my possession a 
letter from an officer in the 80th regiment, in which he states 
that he had found the reaF tea-plant in the woods of Ceylon of a 
quality equal to any that ever grew in China ; and tiiat it was 
in his power to point out to government the means of cultivat- 
ing it in a proper manner. The vast advantages to be derived 
from the cultivation of the tea-plant in our own dominions, 
ought at least to prompt a speedy and vigorous experiment on 
the subject. 
The most beautiful species of the palm kind which Ceylon 
produces is the talipot-tree. This tree is very rare in other 
parts of India, and seems a peculiar blessing bestowed by 
Providence on this island. It grows very tall and straight : 
the wood is hard, and veined with yellow, and is employed in 
carpenters’ work. The talipot bears a large yellow flower, 
which, when ripe, bursts with a loud noise, and diffuses a dis- 
ao’reeable and unwholesome smell. It is on this account that 
the natives will not place their huts near it. The fruit is of 
a round form, and about the size of a cannon-ball ; it contains 
two nuts of the same shape. But it is from its leaves that the 
talipot derives its high estimation. These hang downwards from 
the top, and present a most elegant and grand appearance. The 
leaf is completely circular, terminating in the most beautilul 
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