830 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
beat of the rising sun has caused it to ferment, is very 
wholesome and cooling, and operates as a gentle purgative. 
But upon being fermented, it becomes intoxicating ; and in 
this state is well known to the European soldiers who 
use it in lai^ge quantities, when they cannot procure the arrack 
distilled from it. Arrack in Ceylon is solely made from 
toddy , and whole woods of the cocoa- tree are employed for 
the purpose of procuring it. A barm or yeast arises from 
this process, equal to that which is procured from our malt 
liquor employed in the preparation of whisky. The toddy 
is likewise made into vinegar, and yields a species of 
coarse black sugar known by the name of jaggery. 
Nature seems to delight in making the cocoa-tree serve 
as many useful purposes as possible. At the foot of the 
tree, and likewise among the branches at the top, grow's 
a coat or web of a very light and porous substance which 
is manufactured into a very coarse cloth called grinjakken 
or gunny cloth. It is used for bags to hold rice, and 
also for coverings to the cinnamon bales. The grinjakken 
is also made into a coarse species of paper. 
The utility of the cocoa-tree does not end here. When 
cut down, the trunk furnishes posts to support, and the 
branches rafters to roof the bungaloes or huts of the na- 
tives ; while the leaves are employed to cover them, and 
repel the inclemencies of the sun and the storm. Various 
other purposes are served by the wood of this valuable 
tree. Besides many domestic uses, it is much employed 
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