X544(9)

PLATE IX. THE PERRY AND REST-HOUSE AT BENTOTTE.

Bentotte is twelve miles beyond Caltura, twenty-two beyond Pantura, and thirty-eight from Colombo, on the road to Point de Galle.

The road is, in most parts, good, running close to the sea-shore, which is generally low, and of a sandy soil fruitful in the production of cocoa-nut trees, through shady groves of which it winds nearly all the way to Galle, a distance of seventy-two miles. The cocoa-nut trees are also pretty thickly scattered as far as Matura, 100 miles from Colombo, after which they begin to become scarce, and beyond Tangalle, about twenty miles further, they are rarely seen.

Intermixed with the cocoa-nut trees, and increasing the shade, are observed the areca-nut, jack, bread-fruit, jamboo, cotton, jaggree, tamarind, and, occasionally, banyan and Palmyra trees, adorned with creepers of the black pepper, betel, and a species of jasmine ; the dark green of their foliage being frequently enlivened by the large, bright, and waving leaves of the plantain or banana, and forming together the most beautiful and luxuriant combination that can be conceived. The cocoa-nut trees, the stems of which are less than a foot in diameter rise to the height of seventy or eighty, and sometimes even ninety or a hundred feet; and it is amusing to the traveller, early in the morning, or late in the evening, to observe the dexterity with which the natives ascend and descend them in quest of toddy, passing also from the top of one tree to that of another, by means of two ropes, one for their feet, and another above to steady themselves by, like sailors at the yard-arm of a ship. In the neighbourhood of Colombo there is usually a kind of ladder, formed of hoops fixed at convenient distances round the tree, to assist the climber; but further on it is rarely that anything of the kind is seen, and the toddy-drawer, with the mere aid of a handkerchief, or some other soft band fastening his ankles together, ascends and descends with equal expedition, embracing the stem with the soles of his feet, and with his hands clasped together. There is a natural inequality, resembling small steps, in the stem of the cocoa-nut tree, which must, in a slight measure, assist them.

The toddy is procured by making incisions in the young buds, or blossoms, of the cocoa-nut, which are then tied together and inserted into an earthern vessel, called a chatty, secured to the adjoining stem, and which receives the juice that exudes. The toddy-drawer is provided with a chatty, fastened round his waist, to hold the contributions which may have been received by the others - of which there are commonly two or three to each tree - and also with a knife, in a leather case attached to a belt, for the purpose of making fresh incisions. The natives ascend also to gather the nuts, when ladders are never used. The trees from which toddy is drawn produce little or no fruit, as by that operation germination is stopped, and the nuts destroyed in embryo. Arrack is distilled from fermented toddy by the following simple process. The toddy is placed over a slow fire, in a copper boiler covered by a retort, the pipe of which passes through a butt of cold water, whereby the steam issuing from the former vessel is condensed, and falls into a receiver in a spirituous state. The spirit is then subjected to a similar process, whereby it is reduced to the ordinary state for use.

Arrack may also be distilled from rice, as is the greater portion of that spirit made throughout Asia, but little or none is so made in Ceylon.

A coarse kind of sugar is made from toddy, and also vinegar, by exposing it to the sun; it is, moreover, used by the bakers, as a substitute for yeast, to leaven bread.

The leaves of the cocoa-nut tree are generally about twelve or fifteen in number, radiating from the top of the tree, being about twelve feet in length, and from three to four in breadth. The nuts grow in clusters from the ends of the leaves next the tree, one tree producing from two to three dozen. A ligneous, elastic bough forms the stalk, or centre nerve of the leaf, from which a great number of long narrow slips spring, opposite each other, in the manner of fern, each having likewise a strong centre nerve, of the thickness of a crow-quill, of which the natives make excellent brooms. The finest of these fibres are formed into mats, whilst a light and useful kind of wattling, chiefly used for pandals and screens, is made by plaiting the coarser ones together, and fixing them to a wooden frame.

The various uses to which the cocoa-nut tree and its produce are applied are extremely numerous. Besides those already mentioned, the fibrous husks of the outer case of the nut are wrought into a strong cordage, called coir, and those which are not so used are consumed as fuel. The juice expressed from the kernel, after it is grated, forms the principal ingredient in mullogotanne and all the Cinghalese curries; whilst the refuse affords capital food for hogs, goats, and poultry. Oil is also extracted from the kernels of ripe nuts, which, being separated from the shells, are cut in quarters and dried in the sun, when the oil is expressed in wooden mills turned by oxen. A mill worked by steam was established by government for this purpose, in Colombo, several years ago. This oil is much used by the natives in anointing their heads and bodies after bathing, and supplies them with lights for their dwellings and temples, as well as for festive occasions, when a simple, effective, and expeditious illumination is made by means of green cocoa-nuts fixed on sticks and filled with oil - the upper part having been cut off, and the watery contents emptied out. Spoons and ladles of all sizes are made of an end of the hard shell, into which a stick is fixed for a handle. The filaments which surround the stem are manufactured into a kind of sackcloth, called gunny; whilst the leaves constitute the principal materials used in the thatching of bungalows and huts, and in the building of the latter, for which purpose the centre nerve is split half through, and the sides are plaited together. In this form they are called kejhans, or cadjans, and are allowed to become quite dry and brown before they are used: in this state they are also employed to make covers to the native carts, or hackeries ; and when fresh and green they form the favourite food of elephants. Moreover, on the top of the tree grows a shoot, or pith, about two feet in length and eight inches in diameter, of a consistence similar to that of a turnip, which furnishes a good culinary vegetable, called cocoa-nut cabbage. As the cutting-off of this shoot destroys the tree, the cabbage is seldom used, unless the tree be felled for other purposes, and it is, therefore, esteemed as a rarity.

Toddy is also drawn from the Palmyra, and is considered superior to that of the cocoa-nut tree ; sugar and vinegar are also procured from it, but the greatest quantity is made by the natives from the fruit of the jaggree tree, another species of palm, called in Cinghalese kettule. The pith of this tree, when dried and granulated, is well known by the name of sago.

The river at Bentotte is a fine stream, nearly 500 yards broad at the ferry, but shallow, except for about 150 yards in the middle, as may be conjectured from the way in which the natives are represented, fishing, in the Plate. On one of the boats may be observed a very primitive sail, formed of a single cocoa-nut leaf. The river here, as at Pantura and Caltura, is crossed by means of a large and commodious ferry-boat, with a flat bottom, and a platform for the embarkation of carriages and horses. On the south, or Galle side of the river, as at the other two places, is a capital rest-house, the picturesque gables of which testify that it was built by the Dutch. There is a small island at the mouth of the river, on the north side of which only the stream finds a vent, except in times of flood; and the sea, beating in with a heavy surf, renders the water quite brackish. Bentotte is celebrated for oysters, which are found in great abundance and of good quality along the adjacent coast.

The Galle district commences here ; and it may be observed that the spinning of cotton affords occupation to a great many women and children, all along the road from Colombo to Galle, and even as far as Matura. Near Hiccodde numbers of the former are employed in pens, up to their knees in water, beating out the coir from the husk of the cocoa-nut, which has been previously well soaked. It is then cleansed and laid out to dry, after which it is disposed in layers, on which stones are placed, from whence it is drawn out by the hand, and twisted into the yarn of which the rope is made.