He propounded the problem to the stranger; the latter smiled, and replied,
"Ceylon exports 2,000,000 gallons of cocoa-nut oil, and consumes as much more; it takes forty nuts for a gallon of oil, and thus we dispose of the product of 4,000,000 trees.
"Then there are 5,000,000 trees that produce toddy, which is the juice obtained by tapping the base of the buds just before they blossom. It is drunk sweet or fermented, but in the latter condition it has intoxicating qualities that are not at all beneficial. It contains a good deal of saccharine matter, and is boiled down sometimes into coarse sugar, and sometimes into a sort of cheap molasses. Toddy makes excellent vinegar, is used for leavening bread, and is distilled into the spirits called arrack. The word 'toddy' has gone into other languages, and is known in both England and America.
NESTS OF THE TODDY-BIRD.
"During the season of gathering the juice of the palm the gatherers are greatly disturbed by a small bird that drinks the juice, and calls all its friends to share it with him; it is known as the 'toddy-bird,' and his nest is shaped somewhat like that of the Baltimore oriole. The bird is a social one, and sometimes hundreds of nests will be found together on a single tree.
"We have disposed of the product of 9,000,000 trees, and have 11,000,000 remaining. Many millions of nuts are annually used as food by the natives, either in a green or ripe state, and great numbers are destroyed by the monkeys and other animals that infest the trees. For making the best qualities of coir-rope the nuts must be gathered when green, as the fibres become brittle when old, and the rope is of a poor sort. Then there are many millions of nuts exported to other countries, and on the whole very little of the product of the forest is allowed to go to waste."