93 
out the Orient. Of these the betel-nut, “ Pinang ” of the Malays, 
the chewing of which is a common practice, is one of the best. 
This palm is cultivated in many places solely for its fruit, and is 
occasionally found on some of the islands of the West Indies, 
where it has been introduced and where little is known of its 
properties. The fruit is about the size of a lime, of an orange 
color, and has a rather thick, fibrous husk; the seed bears some 
t 
pepper leaf with a little lime and placed Belween the lower lip 
and teeth. The constant use of this stimulant imparts a reddish 
tint to the lips and mouth and blackens the teeth. Among the 
aged, who have long lost their most important members for masti- 
cating, and in a land where artificial teeth are seldom seen, it is a 
common practice to crush the nut into a powdery mass, when it 
is chewed with as much vigor as in youth, 
Percy WiLson. 
CONFERENCE NOTES. 
At the March conference of the scientific staff and students of 
the Garden, held on March 3, Dr. C. C. cu first spoke on the 
“Flora of the Peribonca River, Quebec,” giving an account of 
a recent a oon that region which is so seldom visited by 
the white 
After cae the shores of Lake St. John in Indian canoes, 
the Indians refusing to the cross the lake under any conditions 
for fear of rough water, the party passed into one of the many 
narrow mouths by means of which the Peribonca River empties 
into the lake. Here the stream was narrow and unpretentious 
and after a short trip we camped for the night and the next morn- 
ing entered the main channel of the stream which stretches out a 
magnificent river almost a half mile in width. From this time 
to the end of the trip, a journey « of eleven days, it was a constant 
struggle to plow our way against the swift current where the 
waters surged and boiled so that the surface was continually dis- 
turbed and covered with foam. 
