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fresh, it forms a very agreeable beverage, though not improved 
by the Dyak custom of steeping a piece of bitter bark in it, 
which communicates its own taste to the fluid. An excellent 
and durable cordage is made from the hairy filaments which 
interweave the stem and axils of the leaves; and the same 
substance is plaited by the natives into ornaments for the arms, 
legs, and neck, which are more pleasing in their deep black hue 
and neat appearance (at least to the eyes of Europeans), than 
the beads and brass with which these people are fond of adorning 
their persons. 
The graceful Betel-nut, or Areca-nut Palm (Areca Catechu), 
does not grow in such abundance as to form an article of 
exportation: on the contrary, large quantities are imported ; 
for these trees, like the Cocoa-nuts, were destroyed during 
the wars, which, previous to Mr. Brooke’s arrival, desolated 
the country. The nut is only used for chewing with the 
Siri leaves (Piper), Lime, and Gambier, a practice universal m 
the Indian Archipelago. The flowers of the Areca are deliciously 
fragrant: they are in request for all festive occasions, and are 
also considered a necessary ingredient in the medicines and 
charms employed for healing the sick: their delightful perfume, 
together with the graceful feathery foliage, borne on a slender 
and elegantly tapered stem, render this tree the universal favourite 
among the Palm tribe. 
Rattans and Canes, the produce of many species of Calamus, 
are valuable to the natives, both for home use and exportation. 
They abound in old and damp jungles, and prove very annoying 
to the pedestrian, whose clothes are caught by their strong 
curved prickles, and who can only extricate himself by stepping 
backward and carefully unhooking them. The various kinds 
differ much in size and appearance: some are so slender as 
scarcely to be observable, others are stout and rough: some are 
smooth, and others have their stems and leaves garnished with 
numerous prickles. Those called, in commerce, Malacca Canes, 
are of the larger sort. The Rattans of Borneo excel all the 
others, and are brought from the south and eastern parts of the 
islands in vast quantities, and exported to Sincapore and Batavia, 
and thence to India and China. The natives employ them for 
baskets, mats, and cordage, and where nails are unknown they 
serve the purpose of binding the frame of a house together. 
The drug called Dragon’s Blood is procured from one of the 
larger ratfans; but its manufacture is exclusively confined to 
the southern and little visited parts of the island, and is therefore 
not known to Europeans. It is annually sent in large quantities 
