118 THE PALMS OF ASIA. 



soAvs itself in the ground ; but this is not 

 usually suffered. The fruit is gathered, and 

 after tmdergoing certatii preparatory processes, 

 is the pinang, or betel nut, so universally chewed 

 in the East Indies. The fresh nut cannot be 

 eaten, because it contains in its crude state a 

 white viscous matter, which, though insipid to 

 the taste, occasions delirium, and it is therefore 

 subjected to processes, the aim of which is to 

 dissipate the deleterious principle. 



The cultivation of the areca palm is carried 

 on in gai'dens or plantations on an extensive 

 scale. The soil most favourable to it is a black 

 mould on a substratum of limestone, or inter- 

 mixed with calcareous nodules. It is propa- 

 gated from the ripest seeds or fruits, which arc 

 first sown in beds, and afterwards removed 

 to their 2^^oces in plantations. It is planted 

 in rows, and carefully manured and watered 

 during several years. These plantations are 

 usually close to the villages, and are highly 

 ornamental. The neighbourhood of the sea is 

 conducive to the perfection of the fruit ; and 

 the warmer and lower the land, the more 

 rapidly does the tree advance to maturity. It 

 begins to bear from the fifth or si.xth to the 

 fifteenth year, and remains in perfection for 

 thirty years longer. Some individuals, how- 



