ch ola is then damped, and a weight being attached to one end
of it, it is drawn backwards and forwards across the edge of the wood
till the surface becomes perfectly smooth and polished; and during the
process, as the moisture dries up, it is necessary to renew it till the
effect is complete. The smoothing of a single ola will occupy from
fifteen to twenty minutes.[1]

[Footnote 1: See Vol. II. p. 528.]

The finest specimens in Ceylon are to be obtained at the Panselas, or
Buddhist monasteries; they are known as _pusk[(o]la_ and are prepared by
the Samanera priests (novices) and the students, under the
superintendence of the priests.

The raw leaves, when dried without any preparation, are called
_karak[(o]la_, and, like the leaves of the palmyra, are used only for
ordinary purposes by the Singhalese; but in the Tamil districts, where
palmyras are abundant, and talpat palms rare, the leaves of the former
are used for books as well as for letters.

The _palmyra_[1] is another invaluable palm, and one of the most
beautiful of the family. It grows in such profusion over the north of
Ceylon, and especially in the peninsula of Jaffna, as to form extensive
forests, whence its timber is exported for rafters to all parts of the
island, as well as to the opposite coast of India, where, though the
palmyra grows luxuriantly, its wood, from local causes, is too soft and
perishable to be used for any purpose requiring strength and durability,
qualities which, in the palmyra of Ceylon, are pre-eminent. To the
inhabitants of the northern provinces this invaluable tree is of the
same importance as the coco-nut palm is to the natives of the south. Its
fruit yields them food and oil; its juice "palm wine" and sugar; its
stem is the chief material of their buildings; and its leaves, besides
serving as roofs to their dwellings and fences to their farms, supply
them with matting and baskets, with head-dresses and fans, and serve as
a substitute for paper for their deeds and writings, and for the sacred
books, which contain the traditions of their faith. It has been said
with truth that a native of Jaffna, if he be contented with ordinary
doors and mud walls, may build an entire house (as he wants neither
nails nor iron work), with walls, roof, and covering from the Palmyra
palm. From this same tree he may draw his wine, make his oil, kindle his
fire, carry his water, store his food, cook his repast, and sweeten it,
if he pleases; in fa