THE PALMS OF ASIA. 117 



Fishing-nets and linen shirts are •woven from 

 its fibres, and ropes from its twisted leaf stalks. 

 The root is a useful medicine, and possesses 

 emollient and slightly astringent properties ; 

 sliced, it is used ia slight diarrhoeas ; and Waitz 

 even says that it is a most valuable remedy for the 

 periodical diarrhoeas ■which in the East Indies 

 so frequently attack Europeans out of health. 



Aixca catechu, the areca, or hctel palm, is 

 described by Dr. Roxburgh as the most beau- 

 tiful palm in India. It has a remarkably 

 straight trunk, -which rises to a height of from 

 forty to fifty feet, is six or eight inches in 

 diameter, of an equal thickness throughout, and 

 ■with a smooth ash-coloured surface,marked with 

 parallel rings. The leaves, of which there are 

 only six or seven, spring from the top, and are 

 six feet in length, gracefully curving down- 

 ■\vards from a long stalk. This palm is culti- 

 vated all over India for the sake of its nuts and 

 fruit, -which are of the size and shape of a hen's 

 egg, and much resemble a nutmeg deprived of 

 its husk. The nut is enveloped in a firm 

 fibrous rind, about half an inch thick. When 

 ripe, the fruit is of a reddish yellow colour, and 

 hangs in i-ich clusters, forming a beautiful con- 

 trast with the bright green of its leaves. If 

 allowed to remain long enough, it falls oflf and 



