A VISIT TO THE HAIGAHS. 139 



The nut of the arica palm, or soo- 

 pari, as it is called in Hindostani, is 

 known to Europeans as " betel nut," a 

 corruption of " vetelei," which, is the 

 Tamil name of the leaf in which, the 

 nut is rolled when it is chewed. I need 

 scarcely say tha,t the enormous demand 

 for this nut throughout the Bast makes 

 the crop very valuable. 



Monkeys are fond of the pulp which 

 covers the nut, and as the plantations 

 are generally near the forest, these 

 plunderers often visit and rob the trees. 

 Doleful, and of course exaggerated, 

 complaints of the evil deeds of the 

 monkeys used to be poured into my 

 ears at settlement time by the owners 

 of gardens in forest neighbourhoods ; 

 but they had various devices for check- 



