ARECA 



CATECHU 



Betel-nut 



Uses. 

 Masticatory. 



Medicine. 

 Intoxication. 



Trade. 



Foreign 

 Imports. 



Net Loss. 



Foreign 

 Exports. 



Produc- 

 tion. 



Coasting Trade. 



Internal Trade. 



THE BETEL-NUT PALM 



Briefly it may be said that the chief use of the betel-nut is as an as- 

 tringent and stimulating masticatory. To some extent it is employed in 

 MEDICINE , the unripe fruits are in India vie wed as laxative and carminative, 

 and a paste of the powder of the dry or burnt nut is used as a dentifrice. 

 In Europe the ripe fruits have been employed as an anthelmintic and as- 

 tringent. Most writers affirm that occasionally the nuts (especially when 

 eaten fresh) are found to possess intoxicating and poisonous properties. 

 This is believed to be an accidental peculiarity of certain trees which 

 thus show a reversion to what may be the wild condition. This poisonous 

 property has been ascertained to be destroyed by boiling, and hence 

 no doubt has come into existence the system mentioned above of 

 preparing the nuts for market by various methods of cooking. It 

 has been ascertained that the active and poisonous principle present 

 in areca-nut is an alkaloid Arecoline. The antidote to this, as recom- 

 mended by Rumphius (in 1741 A.D.), is said to be salt, lime-juice or 

 acid pickles. 



TRADE. Betel-nuts are not only very largely produced in India but 

 are imported from Ceylon, the Straits Settlements, Sumatra and China. 

 In 1895-6, the year before the effects of the Bengal betel-nut plague 

 became serious, the foreign imports stood at 58 million lb., valued at 

 36 J lakhs of rupees. Steadily these imports improved until in 1899-1900 

 they stood approximately at 90 million lb., valued at 62f lakhs of 

 rupees. These figures may be accepted as representing a loss to the Indian 

 producer of 26 lakhs of rupees. This opinion may be confirmed in various 

 ways. In my report on the ravages of the betel-nut plague it will be found 

 that I have stated that in many plantations visited there was a loss of 

 from 50 to 90 per cent, of the trees. The returns of the river traffic from 

 the betel-nut area into Calcutta, showed for 1895-6 a decrease of 8 million 

 lb., as compared with that of the three previous years. The trade 

 still further declined for the two following years but revived very greatly 

 subsequently, and has now been more than restored to itsformer magnitude. 

 It will thus be seen that during the disturbed years above indicated pro- 

 duction in Bengal decreased by the exact amount that the foreign im- 

 ports increased, involving a loss during these years of some 200,000 per 

 annum to the betel-nut growers of the province. But since 1900 the 

 foreign imports have continued to increase, till in 1906-7 they reached 

 119,732,410 lb., valued at Rs. 1,15,35,030. The foreign exports were 

 280,782 lb. in 1896-7, and for the five years ending 1906-7 they were 

 375,050, 341,937, 320,176, 343,526, and 289,770 lb. To these amounts 

 would have to be added the re-exports, which in recent years have varied 

 from some 20 to 40 thousand lb. 



The magnitude and importance of the Indian production of betel- 

 nuts may, however, be judged of by the extent of the coasting trade. 

 During the three years ending 1905-6 the inter-provincial exchanges 

 have ranged from 57 to almost 64 million lb. of Indian-grown nuts valued 

 at from 82 to 89 lakhs of rupees. Of that amount Bengal has exported 

 from 32 to 37 million lb. Burma is the largest importing province, and 

 has taken from 29 to 34 million lb. Of the internal trade mention may 

 be made of Assam. It produces these nuts chiefly in Sylhet and Gauhati, 

 but the large number of Indian coolies concerned in tea-planting are 

 dependent on the supplies drawn from Bengal. Madras is supplied very 

 largely by the Malabar Coast, and the exports of South India go mainly 



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