23 



P. farinifera yields sago from its stem ; probably also this and other 

 species furnish date sugar and palm toddy. 



DWISION III.— ARECIN.E. 



The genus Areca belongs to India, and is there of great importance, 

 OAving to the extraordinary use of A. catechu in almost all parts of 

 India. A piece of the nut with a little quick lime is wrapped in a 

 piece of the leaf of the Betel peper, and chewed in the same way as 

 other nations use tobacco ; its properties are very similar, it is narcotic, 

 and excites the salivary glands. 



The tribes of the Nagas and Abors use the seeds of A. nagensis 

 instead of the Betel nut. They call it tal-pat. 



There is one kind of Betel nut which is only used medicinally ; it is 

 the fruit of A. cocoides. The seeds of A. Dicksoni are used by the 

 poorer natives of Bedanore as a cheap substitute for the true Betel nut. 



The native builders use the stems of A. tigilaria extensively for 

 house posts. 



The South American genera Leopoldina(N. Sp.) Piacaba (Wallace), 

 according to him yields Piacaba, and the natives use the hollowed 

 stems of Irartea setigera for theii- gravestones. 



Cakyota Ueens, according to Roxburgh, yields from its juice an 

 immense quantity of palm wine or toddy, and its stem an abundance 

 of sago. 



Aregna (Labillardiere) is an important genus. 



A. saccharlfera is one of the most valuable palms of India, its 

 fibrous rete yields a material for making ropes, which are remarkable 

 for their resistance to the action of wet. The juice is either drunk as 

 toddy or boiled into sugai", of which it yields large quantities. The 

 young albumen of the fruit is preserved in sugar as a sweetmeat, and 

 the stems, which become hollow after the ripening of the fruit, are in 

 great request for ti'oughs, water pipes, &c. ; the stem also yields an 

 abundance of sago. 



DIVISION IV.— NIPIN.E. 



I am not aware of any economic value in the species belonging to 

 this division, but many genera of the next arc especially valuable. 



DIVISION v.— COCOIN^. 



C0CO8 NuciKEUA, the Cocoa Nut Palm, is an object of interest even 



to the inhabitants of Europe, as well as of the tropics, and little as wo 



may think of this palm, it would be a great national evil if its products 



should be at this time abstracted from the commerce of Great i>ritain; 



