attention by the cultivator. A worker in the vineyard 
often reminds one of a servant in a palace, too careful to 
spoil anything. For the successful growing of this vine, 
one must need to have perfect knowledge of its require- 
ments — adequate wind breaks, protective shade with 
diffused light, perfect supports, rich and well-drained 
humus soil, fairly constant temperature with a uniform 
amount of moisture and regular manuring at intervals. 
In some parts of India the vine is grown in specially 
constructed houses of grass, reeds and mats, having flat 
grass roofs so arranged as to admit diffused light. 
As in the case of the betel nuts, there are numerous, 
localized varieties of leaf; and in some details the culti- 
vation varies from place to place. The vine is rarely 
grown by the consumer, as it requires expert knowledge; 
hence in India, the betel leaves travel long distances 
from the cultivators to the consumers, i.e., to towns and 
cities. 
Harvest AND PREPARATIONS 
a. Betel Nuts 
The period from flowering to fruit ready to be har- 
vested is nine to ten months. Flowering commonly oc- 
curs throughout the year. The harvesting periods in 
India begin in August and run up to the following Jan- 
uary, the peak periods occurring mostly from October 
to November. 
For curing purposes, the fruits are collected just before 
they are quite ripe. When one or two fruits in a bunch 
begin to turn orange-yellow, the bunch is cut off and the 
fruits are gathered. For raw nuts, all the fruits are al- 
lowed to ripen to an orange-yellow colour. 
The harvesting process is of interest. Special tree 
climbers are employed for gathering the fruits. These 
are the artisans of tree climbing. The climber uses a two 
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