128 THE PALMS OF ASIA. 



cool, sweet, and refreshing, and is used by the 

 Chinese as a sweetmeat ; but when ripe, all 

 this changes to a hard bluish kernel, which is 

 insipid and uneatable. The outer wood of the 

 stem, when old, becomes very hard, and 

 although scarcely to be cut transversely, never- 

 theless readily divides in a longitudinal direc- 

 tion ; it is capable of taking a fine polish, and 

 is frequently made use of for bows. It is 

 known in commerce by the name of j^almym 

 wood. The sap, which is drawn from the tree 

 in the same manner as from other palms, is 

 described by sir W. Jones as being " as pleasant 

 as Pouhon water fresh from the spring, and 

 almost equal to the best mild Champagne." It 

 is from this tree that toddy is chiefly procured 

 in Borneo, and large quantities of sugar are 

 obtained by tlie evaporation of the fresh liquor. 

 Happy would it be for those provinces if it 

 were always applied to so innocent a purpose ; 

 but arrack, the bane of tropical India, is easily 

 and extensively distilled from it. Dr. Koyle* 

 mentions a curious circumstance in relation 

 to this palm, as being a common phenomenon 

 in India, namely, that of a palm growing out of 

 the centre of a Banian tree. It is occasioned 

 thus : — The seed of the Banian tree, dropped 



* Illustrations of Uiiualayau Botany, vol. i. p. 339. 



