TRADE IN BETEL-NUT 



01 







ARENGA 



SACCHARIFBRA 



Sago-palm 



the Straits while Bengal exports to Burma. Judging by the coast- 

 ;ide alone, the chief areasof production are Bengal. Horn bay, Madras 

 ;iml (ioa. mentione.l in the sequence of their importance. A certain 

 n>poi-tioii of the quantities recorded as carried by rail and river 

 ppear 11,-zain iii the sea-borne traffic (the coastwise and foreign exports) 

 or they have been derived from the foreign imports, but allowing for all 

 such necessary corrections, the transactions by land routes must be 

 opted as greatly augmenting any estimate that might be framed as to 

 e total quantity and value of the Indian production. But over and 

 ,bove all published returns there is still a source of error (and in this case 

 an important error) in the local or village cultivation and consumption village 

 which escapes registration entirely. As a deduction from the estimate 

 that might be arrived at from the study of foreign supply plus Indian 

 production, the Foreign Exports would have to be accounted for, say 250 Foreign Export*. 

 350 thousand Ib. These go mainly from Bombay ports and are derived 

 iefly from the coastwise imports from the other parts of that Presidency 

 ith a smaller supply from Goa and Madras. Madras is the next most 

 portant exporting province. Bengal, the chief producing province, 

 ports very little to foreign countries. The Trans-frontier (land) traffic 

 in India to Kashmir, Nepal, Bhutan, Manipur, the Shan States, etc., 

 during the three years ending 1906-7 been 53, 46, and 64 thousand Ib. 

 From the published returns of foreign imports and Indian production, Total 

 riefly indicated, it would seem safe to affirm that the annual consumption Trans- 

 f betel-nuts in India itself cannot be far short of a valuation of Ks. 225 actions. 

 khs. or say 1,500,000. The price adopted in making that calculation 

 ,s been obtained from the mean of the declaration value in the foreign 

 mports and internal traffic for a period of five years. But if the foreign 

 imports alone be considered, the price would seem to be from Rs. 5-78 in Prices. 

 1895-6 to Rs.7-87 in 1898-9 and Rs.6'98 subsequently per 100 Ib. 

 of nuts. These figures correspond sufficiently nearly with those given by 

 'Conor, viz. Rs. 6-5-8 per maund, risen recently to Rs. 7-8-0. The 

 tail price may therefore be expressed at 2 to 3 annas per Ib. The 

 following quotations from the Bombay market price list of different trade 

 ualities may be regarded as amplifying the above average calculations : 

 Betel-nuts. Goa, Rs. 8 to 10 per cwt. ; Mangalore, Rs. 14 to 22 per 

 wt. ; Rupasi, Rs. 12 to 16 per cwt. ; Calcutta, Rs. 12 to 13 per cwt. ; 

 igree, Rs. 12 to 14 per cwt. ; Kanarese, Rs. 16 to 20 per cwt. ; and 

 verdani, Rs. 18 to 19 per cwt. Red Betel-nuts. Malabari, Rs. 14 to 16 

 cwt. ; Kumpta, Rs. 12 to 18 per cwt. ; Marorkhudi, Rs. 16 to 17 per 

 wt. ; Goa, Rs. 24 to 32 per cwt. ; Wasai, Rs. 20 per cwt. ; Malwa, Rs. 12 

 13 per cwt. ; Vingorla, Rs. 12 to 13 per cwt. ; and Calcutta, Rs. 10 to 

 2 per cwt. It would appear that the poorer classes use various substitutes 

 or the betel-nut, for example the seeds of Calamus erect as, Roxb. 



ARENGA SACCHARIFERA, Lnltilt. ; Fl. Br. Ind., vi., 421 ; 

 >xb., Trans. Soc. Arts, 1804, xxii., 366-8 ; 1806, xxiv., 155 ; Gamble, 

 in. Ind. Timbs., 728 ; Dodge, Useful Fibre Plants of the World, 66 ; 

 E^E. The Sago-palm of Malacca and the Malaya, taung-ong, eju, 

 gumuti, etc. ; very commonly cultivated in India and wild in the forests 

 of Burma and Assam. It flowers about the tenth year. 



At the base of the petiole is found a beautiful black horsehair-like FIBRE 

 known as the Eju or Gomuta Fibre. Within the sheaths is a layer of reticulated 



91 



D.E.P., 

 i., 302-4. 

 Sago-palm. 



Fibre. 



