EFFECTS OF THE BETEL. 429 



name, as Un, signifying plant, is prefixed to the 

 Dame of a plant. 



, The ripe Areka-nut is called also Penu, massa, 

 and the green Pcnu, mudr ;* the Gambir, used 

 with the Betel, Gamhe ; the Betel-leaf, Rdnu ; 

 the Chunam, Gapu ; the tobacco, Bakun. 



The rajah of Pedir claims ten per cent, as a 

 duty levied in kind upon all the Areka-nut dis- 

 posed of to ships arriving in his territory ; and, 

 besides this, his subjects are obliged to dispose of 

 the nuts to the ship, at the price he or his mi- 

 misters have agreed upon with the super- 

 cargo.* 



The red colour, produced by chewing the 

 Betel-leaf, in combination with the Areka-nut, 

 lime, &c., is not produced by them when used 

 separately. The mastication of the " BeteV is 

 considered very wholesome by those who are in 

 the habit of using it : it may be so, but the black 

 appearance it gives to the teeth, although it is 

 said to be an excellent preserver of them, to- 

 gether with the brick-red lips and mouth, give 



* I understand that a large quantity of the Areka-nut is 

 grown upon the Pelew islands, and could be procured in 

 barter for tobacco, rum, and other articles ; this was ascer_ 

 tained by a vessel which visited those islands in 1830. 

 The natives of this group of islands also use it as a masti- 

 catory. 



