Caryota Urens

This fine palm is a native of Ceylon, and is also

found in other parts of India, where it supplies the native

population with various important articles. Large quantities of

toddy, or palm-wine, are prepared from the juice, which, when

boiled, yields very good palm sugar or jaggery, and also excellent

sugar candy. Sago is also prepared from the central or pithy part

of the trunk, and forms a large portion of the food of the

natives. The fiber from the leaf stalk is of great strength; it is

known as Kittool fiber, and is used for making ropes, brushes,

brooms, etc. A woolly kind of scurf, scraped off the leaf stalks,

is used for calking boats, and the stem furnishes a small quantity

of wood.