THE COCONUT OF CEYLON. 
189 
THE COCONUT OF CEYLON. 
The coconut is very extensively cultivated 
in Ceylon—indeed, nearly the whole island is 
encircled with this useful and productive tree, 
which may be justly designated the summum 
bonum of the native population. The cultivation 
of it is rapidly increasing; for it is found to be 
a most valuable and safe investment of property, | 
as it requires a trivial outlay, and little further 
care than the planting, except protection from 
cattle during the first two years, thriving as it 
does most luxuriantly in sandy soil, and bear- j 
ing fruit in the fifth year. The estimated value ! 
of the produce of a single tree is a rix dollar 
per annum. 
This tree frequently exceeds 100 feet in height, 
and there is no part of it which is unproductive 
to the owner; from the flower he obtains toddy, 
from which the finest arrack in the world is 
distilled, and from which is also prepared a 
coarse-grained, brown sugar, called by the native , 
“jaggery,” and an elegant description of vinegar. 
The green fruit yields a delicious cooling bev¬ 
erage to the weary traveller, and a vegetable 
pulp, highly esteemed by the natives; the 
ripening fruit is also used as food, or oil is ex¬ 
tracted from it, which is now manufactured into 
candles and soap, and the refuse, or oil cake, is 
used for feeding cattle; while the external 
husks, after long soaking, are beaten into coir, 
which is now well known in England, and is 
used in stuffing matresses, &c., and from which 
cordage and matting are manufactured. The 
leaves, when, interwoven, are called “ cajan,” 
and make excellent thatch, and protection from 
the sun’s rays, or when burned are converted 
into an alkali; the young leaves are used by 
the natives for a variety of useful and ornamen¬ 
tal purposes, particularly the. latter, on joyous 
and festive occasions, when bamboo arches are 
decorated with them, and brooms and mats are 
made from the young pine. A medicinal oil is 
extracted from the bark, which the native prac¬ 
titioners use as an efficacious remedy in cutane¬ 
ous diseases. The root is also used for medici¬ 
nal purposes, and its elastic fibres are woven 
into strainers for liquids ; while the timber may 
be used in building, or converted into beautiful 
articles of furniture. But it would be endless* 
to describe the various additional uses to which 
every portion of this valuable tree is converti¬ 
ble, which are said to be upwards of 100, and 
have formed the theme of many native poets. 
There are annually exported from the colony 
about £800,000 worth of coconuts, £30,000 
worth of coconut oil, £7,000 worth of arrack, 
and £7,000 worth of coir.— Bell's W. Messenger. 
A SCRAP OF AGRICULTURAL HISTORY. 
The settlement of this part of the country was 
commenced some 70 years ago. The soil, as 
found by the pioneers, was for the most part 
poor, being robbed by yearly fires, of that which ! 
would have made it rich. The farmer, therefore,' 
was poorly paid for his toil. No manure of any | 
kind was used, except the little made in the barn-! 
yard. 
Some forty years ago, clover and plaster were ! 
introduced, the effects of which were surprising. 
Barren fields were at once clothed with verdure, 
and the air filled with the delicious fragrance 
from lan d laden with clover. As a consequence, 
crops of all kinds were greatly increased, and 
the cultivators were highly elated, supposing 
that they had at last struck upon the true secret 
of farming. 
The course pursued, was, first to seed down 
with clover, then pasture for two or three years, 
and fallow for wheat; next, corn, and lastly, oats, 
seeding down again. Nobody dreamed that it 
was possible for the soil to become exhausted 
under this kind of treatment; but after 25 or 30 
years, the farmers began to complain that their 
clover seed did not come up, and in some in¬ 
stances died after it was up. The soil being 
defective, was never once thought of as a prob¬ 
able cause. Unsuccessful efforts were made 
year after year, until the truth was forced upon 
them that there was an ingredient lost from the 
soil, necessary to the growth of clover. As a 
result of this state of things, our crops became 
light again, and our fields, instead of blooming 
with clover, were brown with sorrel. Our land 
became poorer instead of better, until we were 
forced to abandon the raising of wheat, except 
on newly-cleared lands or those made rich from 
the avails of the barnyard. 
Some six or seven years ago, one of my neigh¬ 
bors, more enterprising than the rest, made an 
experiment with lime, upon a small piece of 
land as poor as could be, in the middle of a 
large field. A crop was taken from the whole, 
and an effort made to seed down to clover, and 
in the month of June, the year following, noth¬ 
ing but a mass of sorrel could be seen, except 
the small piece limed, which was covered with 
clover and destitute of sorrel. Other experi¬ 
ments with lime have since been made with the 
same result. E. A. Atherton. 
Lackawana , Pa. 
To Make Rhubarb Jam.— Boil gently, for 
three hours, an equal weight of fine sugar and 
rhubarb stalk, with the juice and grated rind 
of a lemon, to each pound of the fruit. When 
the true flavor of the rhubarb is much liked, 
the lemon peel should be omitted. A very 
good jam may be made with six ounces less of 
sugar to the pound, by boiling the rhubarb 
gently for an hour before it is added.— Manches¬ 
ter Receipt. 
A New Clover for the South. —The Talla¬ 
hassee Sentinel speaks of a Chilian clover, sent 
to Governor Brown, from the patent office, which 
was carelessly sown three years ago, but which 
has continued flourishing and prolific ever sincer 
It bears a pale-blue flower, and grows 18 inches 
high. We hope our friends in that section will 
watch its character, and hereafter give us a full 
account of its merits and adaptedness to the 
south. 
To Cure Chilblains.— Wash the feet with 
water, saturated with alum, and draw on a sock 
made of soft, fine, old linen 
