58 BRITISH BORNEO. 
and is sometimes used by European pipe smokers. The 
Bruna Malays and the natives generally, as a rule, smoke the 
tobacco in the form of cigarettes, the place of paper being 
taken by the fine inner leaf of the zzfa palm, properly pre- 
pared by drying. The Court cigarettes are monstrous things, 
fully eight inches long sometimes, and deftly fashioned by the 
fingers of the ladies of the harem. 
Some of the inland natives, who are unable to procure zzpa 
leaf (dahun ktrez), use roughly made wooden pipes, and the 
leaf of the maize plant is also occasionally substituted for the 
nipa. It is acommon practice with persons of both sexes to 
insert a “quid” of tobacco in their cheek, or between the 
upper lip and the gum. This latter practice does not add to 
the appearance of a race not overburdened with facial charms. 
The tobacco is allowed to remain in position for a long time, 
but itis not chewed. The custom of areca-nut chewing has 
been so often described that I will only remind the reader 
that the nut is the produce of a graceful and slender palm, 
which flourishes under cultivation in all Malayan countries 
and is called by Malays przang. It is of about the size of a 
nutmeg and, for chewing, is cut into pieces of convenient size 
and made into a neat little packet with the green leaf of the 
aromatic betel pepper plant, and with the addition of a little 
gambier (the inspissated juice of the leaves of the uncaria 
gambir) and of fine lime, prepared by burning sea shells. 
Thus prepared, the bolus has an undoubtedly stimulating 
effect on the nerves and promotes the flow of saliva. I have 
known fresh vigour put into an almost utterly exhausted boat’s 
crew by their partaking of this stimulant. 
It tinges the saliva and the lips bright red, but, contrary to 
avery commonly received opinion, has no effect of making © 
the teeth black. ‘This blackening of the teeth is produced by 
rubbing in burnt coco-nut shell, pounded up with oil, the 
dental enamel being sometimes first filed off. “Toothache and 
decayed teeth are almost unknown amongst the natives, but 
whether this is in some measure due to the chewing of the 
areca-nut I am unable to say. . 
It used to be a disagreeable, but not unusual sight, to see 
