THE PALMS OF ASIA. 131 



\vliere it grows for the v/ine or sap wliicli it 

 alTords, in common ■with so many species of this 

 order. It flows profusely from the Avoundcd 

 branches of the inflorescence about the time 

 •wlien the fruit is formina:. A bamboo bottle is 

 tied to the extremity of an amputated branch, 

 find removed twice a day — morning and even- 

 ing. When first drawn from the tree it is 

 transparent, with the taste and colour of new 

 wine. After a short time, it becomes turbid 

 and milky, and acquires a slight degree of 

 acidity. When considered fit for drinking, it is 

 of a yellowish colour, Avith a powerful odour, 

 and a good deal of astringency, and strangers 

 do not for some time become accustomed to it. 

 It is exceedingly intoxicating, but if drunk in 

 moderation, is said to be stomachic and whole- 

 some. Besides yielding wine, the coarse fibres 

 of the stem and leaf-stalks are manufactured 

 into powerful cables. The leaf-stalks alone 

 yield from four to seven pounds of these fibres, 

 which resemble horse-hair, and are called 

 " gomutie." They are also employed for stitching 

 together thatch, for making brooms, and other 

 similar purposes. It is thought that the 

 " vegetable bristles," now so largely imported 

 for making V>rooms, are the same article. The 

 mid-ribs of the leaflets are converted into pens, 



