their wood, except in _bungalows_, is rarely employed in European
architecture; nor do the natives make much use of it as a timber: large
quantities are every year cut up for planks, intended chiefly for very
ordinary purposes, where great strength and durability are not
essentials. The immense quantities of fine bamboos, which ordinarily
grow very straight to the height of sixty feet, or more, though rarely
measuring more than five inches diameter near the root, and gradually
tapering off as they ascend, supply the contented native with rafters,
joists, posts, pillars, laths, and a great variety of et ceteras, all
tending either to his shelter, or to his convenience. The ordinary price
of these invaluable reeds (for they are of the _arundo_ tribe) may be
from three-pence to five-pence each; that is, generally from seven to
twelve for a rupee, according to size and demand. Millions of them are
annually brought to Calcutta, both by water, and on _hackeries_; in the
former instance, they, being remarkably buoyant, are floated in clumps,
or, perhaps, are made into rafts, on which _boossah_, (or chaff,) and
even corn, are laden; or they are tied to the sides of very large boats,
which also carry from five hundred, to as many thousands, as a cargo.
The buoyancy of the bamboo is occasioned as much by its various cells,
as by the lightness of its wood. These cells, in a common sized bamboo,
may be about three quarters of an inch in diameter in those joints that
are near the roots; where the wood is far more solid and compact than in
the upper parts, towards which the cells become gradually wider, and the
joints longer; thus reducing the substance of the bamboo very
considerably, as we find to be the case with reeds in general. This
variety in the several parts affords considerable convenience, their
allotment being made according as the work may require more or less
substance; and, as the whole bamboo may be split, like whale-bone, from
top to bottom, without much exertion, scope is afforded for applying it,
with great promptness, to an infinite variety of purposes.
In their whole state, bamboos are used, not only for rafters in the
construction of _bungalows_, but as yards for the sails of the common
country craft; sometimes those of extraordinary size are selected for
top-gallant studding-sail booms, in vessels not exceeding four or five
hundred tons: their immense strength qualifying them admirably for that
situation. The smaller open boats, throughout the East, are generally
fitted with bamboo masts, selected from the lower part of the reed, the
upper being more suited, by its lightness, to be employed as yards:
thus, for three-pence, a boat of about four or five tons may be
furnished, from the same bamboo, with both mast and yard. In vessels of
greater burthen, two or more, even up to a dozen, of bamboos, are lashed
together around a stout piece of wood, which, passing through the
thatch, fits into a step on the vessel’s bottom, and is well secured by
chocks and lashings in various places. This stick, which serves as the
base of the mast, may be about fifteen feet long, and nine or ten inches
diameter: it is commonly left in a very rough state, that the bamboos
which are to surround it may be more firmly held in their places. In
this manner the mast is run up, probably to the height of forty or fifty
feet, according to the vessel’s burthen, and at every two or three feet
is bound by cords made of white hemp. The position of this
awkward-looking pile is maintained by stays innumerable; many of which,
being allowed to point forward, before the line of the mast’s
perpendicular, obstruct the bracing of the yard very considerably. The
strength of that yard must be proportioned to the sail; sometimes one
well-selected bamboo may suffice, but in vessels of great bulk, say from
sixty to ninety tons, two, or even three, stout bamboos are found
requisite.
The sail is usually made of a very coarse kind of canvas, constructed of
a very indifferent kind of hemp, generally used for rice bags, &c., and
known by the name of _gunny_: each piece may measure six or seven feet
by thirty inches; consequently, the innumerable joinings made in a large
sail, offer a very ready means for the wind’s escape. _Blacky_ is not
very particular in this respect; with him, a sail is a sail, so long as
a bit remains adequate to giving the vessel way through still waters.
It will naturally be asked, ‘Why is such miserable tackling in use?’ The
reasons are, _firstly_, because the native owner of a vessel will not go
to one farthing expence beyond what may be indispensably necessary,
however clumsy, or subject to mishap, to set his vessel afloat, and to
have her, as he thinks, ready for departure. _Secondly_, the materials
are probably of his own growth, or he deals in them, or, which is often
the sole motive, he finds them, in the first instance, by far cheaper
than more substantial materials; and, _thirdly_, even if other materials
of a better quality, and in every instance more appropriate, were to be
had for the same money, he would not very readily deviate from the
customs of his ancestors. Were a vessel fitted up on European principles
to be wrecked, the whole family would impute the accident to the sin
engendered by such adoption of the customs of a race held in abomination
by even the lowest _casts_, (or sects,) throughout the country.
Nevertheless, we sometimes see the _manjy_ and _dandies_ grievously put
out of their way, by some shrewd native, who resolutely breaks through
the general prejudice, and imitates that which his faculties convince
him is founded upon science. Not that he will understand the how, and
the wherefore: no; he sees the practice is good, and he adopts it:
whereas, if any regulation were to be framed to enforce his compliance
with our system, in that, or in any other particular, we should
assuredly witness his receding, if possible, from every idea of
improvement; or, if under the necessity of conforming, that his whole
deportment would betray the reluctance, and antipathy, he felt on the
occasion.
May not this trait in the character of Asiatics in general, serve as a
hint to those who talk of coercing them to the adoption of Christianity?
May it not shew that much may be done by _suaviter in modo_, provided we
temper the _fortiter in re_?—Certainly!
Exclusive of the bamboo, the natives have an ample resource for rafters,
as well as for posts and pillars, in the cocoa-nut tree, which grows, it
may be said wild, throughout those parts within reach either of the
sea-water, or of the sea-air. Not that it is absolutely confined to such
situations; but, in proportion as those are removed, so does the natural
growth of this tree gradually diminish; giving way to the _taul_, (or
fan-leafed palm,) which, though less umbrageous, and, in many instances,
less useful, attains a great height, and furnishes a much larger
quantity of wood. In general, few _Bengallees_ will cut down a
_nereaul_, (or cocoa-nut tree,) which supplies them with so many
requisites. Thus, the outer coating, which often weighs from one to two
pounds, when stripped off longitudinally, furnishes those fibres called
_coir_, whereof both small rigging and cables are made. This kind of
rope is particularly elastic, and buoyant; floating on the surface of
the sea, to any extent; therefore, when, owing to the strength of the
current, a boat misses a ship, it is usual to veer out a quantity of
_coir_; having previously fastened an oar, or a small cask, &c. to its
end: by this device, the boat may be easily enabled to haul up to the
ship’s stern.
I should think, that, were a _coir_ hawser kept on board every ship in
the British marine, a great number of lives would be saved. It is,
however, peculiar, that fresh water rots _coir_ in a very short time;
corroding it in a most unaccountable manner; whereas salt water
absolutely invigorates; seeming to afford additional elasticity. This
shews that _coir_ is by no means fit to be used in running rigging, nor
as shroud-hawsers, &c., especially for vessels subject to approach low
latitudes; it being easily snapped in frosty weather.
Nothing can equal the ease with which a ship rides at anchor when her
cables are of _coir_: as the surges approach the bows, the vessel
gradually recedes, in consequence of the cable yielding to their force;
but, so soon as they have passed, it contracts again, drawing the vessel
gently back to her first position. The lightness of the material
doubtless adds to this pleasing effect; for the cable would float, were
not the anchor sufficiently heavy to keep it perfectly down. It is to be
remarked, that a hempen-cable always makes a curve _downwards_, between
the vessel and the anchor, but a _coir_ cable makes a curve _upwards_:
therefore, if a right line were drawn from the hawse-hole, to the ring
of the anchor, it would be something like the axis of a parabolic
spindle; of which the cables would form the two elliptic segments, or
nearly so.
A very considerable trade is carried on, from all parts of India, with
the Maldivies, and Sechelles, (very numerous clusters of islands near
the west coast of the peninsula,) for _coir_ and _cowries_; the latter
being used for inferior currency, while the former is greatly
appreciated, on account of the fibres being much larger, and firmer,
than those grown upon the continent. Not only the islands above named,
but all within the Indian seas, abound with the cocoa-nut tree; which,
in many of them, stand absolutely in the water. These owe their origin
to the growth of such nuts as, having been blown down, or dropped, when
ripe, are buried in the sands; above which their acrospires soon appear,
when the tree shoots up with greater vigor than its inland competitors.
It is said, that, about a hundred and fifty years back, the _Sechelles_
and _Maldivies_ were known only as concealed sands, highly dangerous to
the navigator; and that, after they had, by the action of the sea,
accumulated so as to become superficial, a vessel laden with cocoa-nuts
was wrecked upon one of these banks, which speedily threw up whole
forests of that tree, in consequence of the seed thus furnished: others
attribute the first supply to the adventitious floating of nuts from the
Malabar coast. Nothing appears to discredit either of the accounts; but
the former appears by far the most probable. Be it one way or the other,
we now find that the islands in question not only produce immense
forests of cocoas, but, that they are inhabited by a people, governed
much in the same way as the other Arabian islands, (for such we may call
these, as well as Johanna, Comora, Succotra, &c.;) and whose commercial
relations may be said to consist of _coir_ and _cowries_, bartered with
their neighbours of the peninsula, and the Arabs of Museat, &c., for
cotton-cloths, rice, sugar, &c. To whatever chance it may have been
owing, the navigator now feels less anxiety when near these isles; for,
notwithstanding they are so little elevated as to remain nearly in their
former state of immersion, yet their cocoa forests, which generally
tower to the height of thirty or forty feet, being visible at the
distance of many miles, enable him to ascertain his locality with
correctness, and to avoid the numerous shoals, by a due attention to the
bearings and soundings. The natives are said to be extremely well
acquainted with their archipelago, and to pilot vessels of great burthen
with perfect security and precision.
The next consideration with the native, respecting the cocoa-nut, is its
water, by us called cocoa-nut milk. This pleasant beverage is contained
within the shell, and, in general, may amount to three quarters of a
pint. It is purest when the nut is so young and tender as to allow the
husk and shell to be cut with about as much facility as a stringy
turnip; at which time, very little coagulum adheres to the interior of
the shell, and that little is soft, like milk barely turned by rennet.
Gradually, the water becomes rather turbid, and acquires a stronger
taste; while the coagulum encreases to about the third, or even the
half, of an inch in thickness; hardening, and becoming tough, but easily
snapped into pieces. When arrived at this state, it abounds in oil,
which, at first is remarkably sweet, though of a peculiar flavor, and is
much used by the native Portugueze, in lieu of _ghee_, in their culinary
operations.
The mode of extracting the oil is very simple: a piece of wood, say two
feet in length, six inches broad, and two or three thick, bears at one
of its extremities a stem of iron, driven in by means of a spike: this
stem must be stout, and should measure about ten inches; but, towards
its summit, spreading into the form of an inverted crescent, somewhat
concave, and deeply jagged at its circumference. Sitting, as usual, on
the ground, the operator keeps the baton from tilting, by placing one of
his feet firmly upon it: in that position he takes the nuts, commonly
broken into two or more pieces, by a forcible stroke of some heavy
implement, or by dashing them on the floor, and, by rasping the interior
of each piece against the jagged edges of the iron, causes the coagulum
to fall, in form of a coarse powder, into a vessel placed below to
receive it. To effect this with more facility, the stem slants obliquely
from the baton; allowing room for the receiver to be put immediately
under the crescent. The raspings are now put into hot water, in which
they are well stirred and pressed with a large wooden spoon; by this
means the oil is separated; it is drawn off by opening a little hole
near its surface, as it floats upon the water. It is inconceivable how
much oil is thus obtained in a few minutes; but, both from its own
nature, and the mode of extraction, it soon becomes offensively rancid;
a state in which it is by no means objectionable to the swarthy
_Signors_, who, as well as the Hindus in general, are partial to it as
an unguent for the hair. To a fresh European, the scent of this powerful
finish to the charms of an Indian Venus is highly objectionable: of all
the stinks of which India can boast, it certainly is the worst. But, as
before observed, if used immediately after extraction, nothing can be
sweeter: it also burns remarkably well; therefore is in general use for
lamps among all the European inhabitants. The residuum, after separating
the oil, fattens poultry better than grain: the pork of swine fed upon
cocoa-nuts is delicious; as must be confessed by all who have visited
the Andamans and Nicobars. Considering the coagulum as a food for
mankind, I should by no means feel disposed to recommend it; though it
is certain that the natives eat of it freely: experience satisfies me,
that it is extremely difficult of digestion; and that, when ate as a
meal, much inconvenience, if not indisposition, will generally follow.
Nor can I recommend the water of the young nut to persons whose bowels
are not of the strongest; it being aperient, and, when used beyond a
certain quantity, extremely apt to induce dysentery: the amount of a
nut-ful may, perhaps, be drank with perfect safety. During very hot
weather, if the nuts are fresh gathered, or suffered to remain for a
while in cold water, it is not very easy to withstand the temptation.
The shell of the cocoa-nut is always most valuable when suffered to
ripen upon the tree; it then acquires great hardness, and a fine dark
chocolate color, interveined by fine lines of a rich dun, or clay, or
perhaps striated with those tints: they then take a good polish, and
may, when tastefully mounted, be considered as ornamental to the
sideboard. But, it is to be observed, that they are rather a brittle
ware, compared with their solid appearance; and, that it requires a
great length of time to divest them wholly of a certain strong scent,
reminding those who have been accustomed to the oil, of that peculiar
and powerful rancidity it invariably acquires by long keeping, and
especially by exposure to the air.
Previous to the introduction of lamps in the halls, passages, &c., in
the houses of Europeans, cocoa-nut oil was to be had for about
three-pence, or four-pence, per _seer_ (_i.e._ the measurement of a
_seer_, which comes very nearly to the English quart; in some places
exceeding it, but in others falling short). Since that practice has
obtained, in consequence of candles having been doubled in price, the
oil has likewise been enhanced; so that it now sells at about three and
a half, or four _seers_ per rupee; which accords with seven-pence
halfpenny of our currency per quart. No kind of animal oil is in use
among the natives of India, either as food, or in manufactories; if,
indeed, we except that most curious production, the _meemii-ke-tale_, or
oil extracted from the bodies of malefactors; who, being well fed for a
month, or more, previous to execution, for the purpose of encreasing
their fat, have large fires lighted under them while on the gibbet, and
metal vessels placed to receive the drippings. That this practice has
heretofore obtained, under the government of the native princes, does
not, I believe, admit of a doubt; but, that it is now obsolete, is
equally certain. Still _meemii-ke-tale_ (_i.e._ human oil) may be had at
many places; though not genuine, but composed of whatever materials may
form a mass resembling that originally in use. I have seen several of
these masses, which were of a dark, opaque brown, appearing something
like coagulated blood mixed with dirty jelly, and become hard by
exposure to the sun, or by inspissation: its smell was intolerably
offensive. On the whole, this celebrated extract, which is supposed to
cure all contractions, and stiffness of the joints, is a subject of
astonishment, when we consider it to be in use among a people so very
peculiar in their tenets, and professing so much humanity, not only
towards their brethren, but towards all animated nature. Had Shakespeare
been acquainted with the existence of the _meemii_, he certainly would
have given it a place in Hecate’s stir-about!
If the natives were intent upon obtaining animal oils, the greatest
abundance could be commanded; porpoises, turtles, alligators,
dog-fishes, and sharks, all of which contain large quantities, exist in
every part where the water is brackish; some of them, indeed, become
even more numerous as their distance from the sea encreases. Whales,
likewise, are occasionally seen in the Indian Sea, and in the Mozambique
Channel are extremely common. But, to persons habituated from their
infancy to the use of high-savored viands, any sweet oil would be
insipid: such people want a _haut-goût_ in their sauces; yet it must be
confessed, they certainly manage to render even their strongest
preparations extremely palatable; but, to relish them properly, the
culinary operations must not always be witnessed. _Babachees_, or cooks,
in the employ of Europeans, are sometimes extremely filthy; far more so
than when dressing their own victuals. Few of the natives are sparing in
the use of water on such occasions, even though it should be brought
from some distance; yet, it is equally true, that whole villages are
sometimes content to use water from a pool, comparable only with that
into which Ariel ushered the surly Caliban.
The trunk of the cocoa-nut tree not only answers, when the central pith
is scooped out, for canoes, but, when split, as it may easily be into
slips of any width, forms excellent rafters: if applied to that purpose,
all the soft part is taken entirely away, leaving only the exterior
case, which is very hard, tough, and elastic, about three inches in
thickness. A trunk of about a foot in diameter will commonly rive into
five staves, each about seven inches wide: such should be placed
edgeways on the walls, that their scantlings may be in a proper
direction. Rafters thus made, provided they be not more than twenty
feet, or thereabouts, in length, and not too heavily laden, will stand
for generations, without shewing the smallest symptom of decay. In
saying this, I am to be understood as alluding to their being under
cover; otherwise, they will not exhibit such durability, although they
may fully claim to be on a par with most of the indigenous timbers.
The reader is to understand, that, excepting where merely temporary,
that is to say, intended for a few weeks, or months, _bungalows_ are
always built with pavilion thatches; by which construction they resist
the weather far better, while the quantity of brick-work is considerably
less than where gables are run up. The proximity of the thatches in the
_veranda_ parts, renders them far less cool, in the hot months, than the
interior, in which the thatch is so much further removed: the latter
would be rendered much cooler were flues, or ventilators, to be made for
the purpose of carrying off the rarefied air, as already suggested.
Cocoa-nuts are often sawed into two equal parts, for the purpose of
being made into ladles: to effect this, a hole is made on each side,
about half an inch from the edge, and a stick is passed through, serving
as a handle; much the same as we see in the _jets_ used by brewers for
taking liquor out of their vats. When sawed into two equal parts, across
the grain of the _coir_ coating, cocoa-nuts make excellent table
brushes, causing the planks to assume a very high polish from their
friction. As this operation requires some strength, it is proper to be
careful that the edges of the shell, if left in, (as is sometimes,
though improperly, done,) should be perfectly smooth; being once
rendered so, they will never scratch, however forcibly the brush may be
applied. A very good mode is, to strip off the _coir_, and, after
soaking it well in water, to beat it with a heavy wooden mall until the
pieces become a little pliant, when they should be firmly bound together
with an iron ring: their ends being then levelled, the implement is fit
for use. A little bees’-wax rubbed occasionally upon them, adds greatly
to the lustre of the furniture, without being clammy.
The stem of the toddy-tree is very similar to that of the cocoa, but
grows to a much greater height, and is put to the same purposes. On
first seeing a grove of toddy-palms, one would suppose that a strong
wind must inevitably tear up the whole by their roots; which consist of
innumerable small fibres, that penetrate but a very little way,
comparatively, into the soil. When one of these trees is laid prostrate
by the wind, a very small cavity is made, rarely so much as a cubic
yard. The leaves differ very widely from those of the cocoa: the former
being rather spear-shaped, about a foot, or more, in length, by perhaps
two inches at their broadest part, and attached to each side of the rib,
which may be from ten to fourteen feet in length, and hang gracefully on
every side of the trunk; covering the nuts, which grow on very short,
stiff stems, close under the place where the leaves start from it in all
directions; a tuft of similar, but smaller, branches, grow with rather a
vertical tendency.
The _toddy-palm_ has, on the contrary, about ten or a dozen large
leaves, radiated from their stems, arranged in folds very similar to a
lady’s fan half spread; but the outer edges are indented considerably:
the leaves form each about three-fourths of a circle, but not very
regularly so; some more, some less. These are made into _punkahs_, or
fans, of various sizes; or, when torn into strips of about two inches
wide, which may be about the medium breadth of each fold, serve the
natives in lieu of paper. The greater part of the accounts kept by
Bengallees are written on these leaves, by means of any sharp-pointed
instrument, which, marking through the glossy rind, or coating, on
either side of the leaf, remains, ever after, perfectly distinct and
legible. Those who wish to have the letters still more so, rub the
leaves, after filled with writings, with _kaujool_, or lamp-black; which
sinks into the porous parts laid open by the instrument, but easily
wipes off from that portion of the surface which has not been pierced.
Some hundreds of these leaves may be seen, secured together at one end
by a twine passed through each, like waste paper in a grocer’s shop;
thus forming a voluminous collection. The fruit of the _taul_ consists
of two, or sometimes three, _lobes_, or pods, somewhat similar to those
in a horse-chesnut, and, like them, concealed in a pithy, spherical
coating, but with a smooth exterior. Each _lobe_ is hollow, and contains
a small quantity of very clear liquor, partaking, in a very slight
degree, of the flavor of rose-water; the _lobes_ themselves are about
the size of a Chelsea-bun, are rather of a crisp, but gelatinous
substance, and pleasant to the palate: their exterior is covered with a
very thin, brown rind, like that of an almond; rather astringent, but by
no means acrid.
The liquor, called _toddy_, is obtained by making an incision under the
head of the tree, when, a thin wedge being introduced, the _toddy_ will
gradually exude into a vessel suspended to receive it. This liquor is
very pleasing when fresh drawn, but, in a few hours, acquires a harsh
flavor, ferments, and becomes highly intoxicating. It answers admirably
as leaven, making very light dough; but if kept, as is too commonly
done, until rather sub-acid, it communicates a most unpleasant tartness
to the bread. Groves of _toddy-trees_, in some parts of the country,
yield a very handsome revenue, and great profit to the renters. Like the
cocoa-nut tree, they have within their summits a substance very like a
cabbage in flavor: this occasions mariners sometimes to fell them, with
the view of carrying that part to sea; where it will, if left within its
rind, keep for many months. I have tasted of this vegetable, but did not
feel much gratified, though it assuredly was not disagreeable: it seemed
to require much boiling.