THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA AXB CEYLON. 333 



It would seem that the earliest historic reference b}' a ]^]uropean 

 to the habit of chewing betel-nut occurs in the writings of Marco 

 Polo (1298 A. D.). " All the people, " he wrote, '^ have the habit 

 ■of keeping in the month a certain leaf called tenibul. " Riibse- 

 quentty Vasco da Gama (in 1498), Varthema (in 1510), Barbosa 

 (in 1516), Garcia de Orta (in 1563), Abul Fazl (in 1590), 

 Linschotten (in 1598), Francois Pjavard (in 1601), Roe (in 1615), 

 Jacobus Bontius (in 1629), Bernier (1656-68), Vincenzio Maria 

 (in 1672), give similar accounts. Adams in his translation of Paulus 

 Aegineta refers to the Betel-nut as introduced to Materia Medica by 

 the Arabs. He quotes amongst others the passages referring to it 

 from Avicenna, Haty- Abbas, Ebn Baithar, Elmasudi, Serapion, and 

 others. Ebn Baithar sa5^sthat it is the fruit of a palm, and observes 

 that it is a gentle purgative, makes the breath fragrant, is a cordial, 

 and strengthens the gums and teeth. Linschotten remarks that 

 ^' the Indians goe continually in the streets and waies withBettele or 

 Bettre and other mixtures in their hands, chawing, especially Avhen 

 thejr go to speak with any man, or come before a great lord. " 



Abul Fazl apparently never saw the palm growing, since he likens 

 it to a cypress tree that sways in the wind till it touches the ground. 

 This circumstance may be accepted as showing that from very ancient 

 times, as at the present daj^, the nut has been carried to regions 

 remote from the area of its production. 



Economic uses. — For the medical and economic uses of the plant 

 I quote from Drury : " The nut is used as a masticatory in conjunc- 

 tion with the leaf of Piper Betel and Chunam. It is considered to 

 strengthen the gums, sweeten the breath, and improve the tone of the 

 digestive organs. The seed, reduced to charcoal and powdered, forms 

 an excellent dentifrice. Dr. Shortt states that the powdered nut, in 

 doses of ten or fifteen grains every three or four hours, is useful 

 in checking diarrhoea arising from debility. 



" The dry expanded petioles serve as excellent ready-made splints 

 for fractures. 



" The catechu which the nuts yield is of a very inferior quality. 

 There are two preparations of it, which are respectively called by 

 the Tamools, Cuttacamboo and Cashcuttie ; in Teeloogoo, Kansee, 

 and in Dukhanie, Bharabcutta and Acha-cutta. The first (Cutta- 

 camboo) is chewed with the betel-leaf. 



"Like most of the Palm tribe, the trimk is much used for ordinary 

 building purposes, and in Travancore is especially used for spear- 

 handles, etc. The spathe which stretches over the blossoms, which 

 is called Paak-muttay, is a fibrous substance of which the Hindoos 

 make vessels for holding arrack, water, etc., also cups, dishes, and 

 small umbrellas. It is so fine that it can be written on with ink. 



" In Travancore the nuts are variously prepared for use. Those 

 that are used by families of rank are collected while tlie fruit is 



