36Q THE VEGETABLE PRODUCTS OP SIAM. 



The eagle or aquila wood, or lign-aloes, a fragrant substance, is yielded 

 by Aloexylon Agallochum. Another kind, which is considered less valuable, 

 comes from Aquilaria Agallochum. The fragrant resinous substance which 

 it contains is highly prized by the Chinese, to which country it is only 

 exported. This refers likewise to krachi-wood and angrai bark ; the former 

 being used for incense, the latter for medicinal purposes. 



Amongst plants which are employed for medicinal purposes, must be 

 mentioned the beyche nut, or nux vomica, obtained from the Laos country, 

 which forms an article of export to China. 



Til-seed, the produce of Sesamum indicum, containing an abundance of an 

 oil which, when fresh, can scarcely be distinguished from olive-oil, forms 

 an important article of export. 



Pangtarai seeds, the produce of Arachis hypogcea, or " ground nuts," are 

 cultivated by the natives for expressing a bland oil, which is mostly used 

 for home consumption : some of the nuts are, however, exported. The 

 name in Siamese is tueh-esong. 



A great deal of oil is obtained from the cocoa-nut, which is mostly used 

 for burning in lamps by the inhabitants, very little being exported. 



Areca Catechu, a slender graceful palm, is extensively cultivated for its 

 fruits, known under the name of betel-nuts, so largely employed in chewing 

 by the Siamese and other Eastern nations, as affording a stimulant. It has 

 been observed that the Asiatic nations would rather forego meat and drink 

 than their favourite betel-nuts. A small quantity are exported to China. 

 May and June are the months when the largest quantity can be pro- 

 cured ; but, though an article of very large comsumption in the country, 

 it is not groAvn to any extent for exportation. What is exported is mostly 

 grown about Petrio, and down the west coast of the Gulf. 



The leaf of the betel pepper (Piper betle) is inseparable from the use of 

 the betel-nut, the kernel of which is wrapt in a leaf of that plant, over 

 which a small quantity of quicklime is spread, to which a fine pink 

 colour is given by mixing with it the root of the Curcuma longa, or 

 turmeric. This root, as already observed, forms one of the chief ingredients 

 of the curry powders of India* 



Eeturning to the useful productions of the Palm tribe, I have to men- 

 tion the sago, and a species of palm-sugar or jaggery, the latter of which is 

 prepared from the juice, procured by incision, from the spathe or flowering 

 spike of the Borassus gomutus, before it is fully expanded. The juice goes 

 quickly over into fermentation ; but, by evaporation, the palm-sugar is 

 obtained, and is sold in earthen pots at the bazaars of Bangkok. 



Amongst the spices cultivated in Siam, pepper deserves principally to 

 be mentioned. The greater part is cultivated in the province of Chantibon, 



* The proper colour of the turmeric, under which name it is generally known, 

 is yellow ; hence it is employed to give a yellow colour to the skin of women and 

 children, a custom which is much practised by the highesjt and lowest of the 

 Siamese. 



