874 
Supplement to the “ Tropical Agriculturist. 
[May I, 1892. 
dammar, dugong oil which resembles cod liver oil, 
turtle oil which is used medicinally, and hears’ 
grease used in preparation for promoting the 
growth of hair. 
Tlie jmre transparent vinegar known as cry.stal 
vinegar sells at 112 per gallon, while black \ ine- 
gar — darkened by the addition of roasted padfly 
to white vinegar — sells at Kl'2o per gallon. 
Seed paddy, after a three days' drying, is stored 
in Mannar and the Vanny in large straw re- 
ceptacles (putldavi) or .smaller ones (t'hurunai). 
In Jaffna the seed paddy is stored in large or 
small ola bags, known as kndai and umal 
respectively. 
THE KITUL, PALM. 
Uses . — The starch which is contained in 
the pith of the palm, is prepared into a kind 
of porridge called in Sinhalese talapa , — a very 
palatable dish, which 1 am inclined to think 
is as tasty as any plain English pudding. In 
the months of December or January the pith 
becomes full, and the people avail themselve.s of 
the season to cut down the trees for collecting the 
starch. It is worthy of note that those tree.s which 
have not been tapped for toddy generally contain 
a larger proportion of starch, probably owing to 
the retention of the elaborated sap witbiii the 
tissues of the tree ; while the amount of starch is 
appreciably smaller in trees tapped for toddy. 
When a kit ul tree is cut down (which is always a 
fully developed one) the lonve.s are first stripped 
off, and the stem is split into two. At least, four 
persons are retjuired to carry on this operation. 
The starch which is found collected in the upper 
part of the tree is sliced into fine pieces and washed 
rci)eatBdly. It is then put into a clean mortar and 
pounded till the pieces are reduced into very 
minute iiarticles. After this it is put into a 
strain with water. The filtrate enters into another 
vessel half full of water placed beneath, and 
settles down at the bottom in the shajie of a fine 
semi-li()uid flour. The water is then removed, 
and, after a wliilo, the partially-liquid substance 
coagulates into a solid. Tbe Hour which is of a 
light brown colour is then put into a pan 
and gently heated over a fire and continually 
stirred while being heated. The result of this 
cooking is talapa — a dark brownish substance 
with a very pleasant odour. It is not desirable to 
partake of talapa ns soon as it is prepared owing 
to a peculiar though not unplensent ta.sto which it 
then has ; it is usually prepared in the evening 
and eaten the next morning either alone, or 
with jaggery, treacle or sugar, or with a mixture 
of coconut milk with a little salt. The addition 
of salt is not .so much to bring about flavour, as to 
counteract certain bad effects and to promote 
speedy digestion. Native medical ])ractitioners 
prescribe talapa as a very effective remedy for pa- 
tients suffering from bilious diseases and other com 
plaints. It is also good for drowsiness. Talapa, 
besides being cooling and refreshing, thus 
possesses valuable medicinal propertie.s. It is 
believed that one of the Ivandyan Kings relished 
talapa to such a degree that he specially set apart 
a man to prepare this pudding and bring it to his 
palace every morning, granting him fields in con 
sideration of his services. In thi.s connection I may 
mention that the pith of the Kntu Kitul (or wild 
kitul palm), which has also a pleasant taste, is 
oaten raw. I rvas surpriseil to see whilst ascending 
the Ambuluwawa mountain, which is about 8,.')07 
ft. in height,duriug the last vacation, about a 
hundred of those p.alms grown in very close 
proximity to each other. The trees, which 
looked very flouri.shlng, were grown at about 
the middle of the mountain, and closely re.sem- 
bled arecauirt palms, both in height and cir- 
cumference, except that the epidermis of tl)e 
former is intersected with a thick coating of 
acicular and penetrating spines, which make it 
ipiite impossible to any mortal to climb up the 
tree. Tlie sheaths are used as rude water recep- 
tacles by the poor peasants, and the leaves whiclr 
are very inflammable make excellent torches. 
A kind of dark brown cotton is found sticking 
to the midribs of the leaves, and a white kind of 
cotton in the inflorescence. The Kandyan 
villagers collect this cotton, dry it in the 
sun, and keep it preserved in the house ; and 
in cases of emergency when no fire is to be 
got, they take some of this cotton, place it on a 
stone, and strike it forcibly with another stone 
or a hammer, with the result that the sparks 
emitted by the concussion seize on the cotton and 
set fire to it. 
fhe spathe oi the kitul palm inflfjrescence is 
always used in the extraction of oil from the 
nuts of the kekuna tree C Aleurites moluccana), 
and also for the construction of Singhalese 
measures, such as seers, chundoos, &c. 1 am 
also informed that the tender leaves at the 
crown of the palm are sliced and made into 
an excellent pickle and a curry by the people of 
tbe Southern I’rovince, and that the spathe is 
al.so used in t he preparation of “ jaggery horns.’ 
If a needle-shaped splinter of kitulwood were 
to prick the human body, the result is a swelling 
of t he part accompanied ,by much pain. 
It is said that the kitul trees in the metropolis 
and subsurbs are not tapped for toddy, owing to 
the difficulty of procuring the services of pro- 
fessional toddy-drawers. There is no doubt that 
the most imjiortant process connected with this 
palm i.s the extraction of toddy and the prepara- 
tion of confections which result thereform. The 
Kandyans are admittedly experts in the art of 
kitul toddy-drawing. In the course of conver- 
sation with men versed in the art, they have ex- 
pressed their willingness to serve in Colombo on 
condition of receiving half the jiroduce of the 
trees, or a months’ stipend of It 10 or Hl.‘) with 
a supply of food and clot h. 
In my next eontriliuliou in coutinualion of 
this subject, 1 sliall give a traditional account 
of the origin of kitul loddy-drawiiig, and a 
description of the various met hods adopted in 
the extraction of toddy. 
'J'- I!- I’OHATH KnitEI.l'ANNAI.A. 
j in my contribution on paddy ceremonies to 
the March number, tlie term for bags should be 
and not pellai : the expression goyanmadi- 
nawa is usedfor threshing and not for ploughing.] 
( To he runtiuned.) 
