282 



THE BETELNUT PALM. 



of the carnauba in the Catalogue of Products shown at the National 

 Exhibition, Eio Janeiro, in 1861 : " This wonderful palm is the tree 

 of special utility. Man can with this plant alone construct his house, 

 furnish, and light it. He can obtain from it wherewithal to nourish, 

 clothe, and heal him. He can extract from it fecula, sugar, and spirit. 

 Moreover, it furnishes good food for cattle and the denizens of the 

 poultry yard. No other plant has been supplied by nature with so 

 many useful properties as the carnauba, which is in the vegetable 

 kingdom what iron is in the mineral kingdom. The products of this 

 palm can be applied to more than forty diverse uses, and it may be 

 added that the number of its various applications is by no means 

 exhausted.'* 



The Betelnut Palm. — This palm, the Areca Catechu, is generally 

 admitted to be the most graceful and elegant of the Eastern palms. 

 It is extensively distributed over India, but is cultivated chiefly on 

 the Malabar coast, in the north of Bengal, and the lower slopes of 

 the mountains of Nepal ; the south-west coast of Ceylon, Siam, 

 Cochin China, Pinang, and Sumatra. Unlike the cocoa palm, it will 

 thrive in high regions and at a distance from the sea. 



From Ceylon the export seems to be on the increase ; for whilst 

 in former years, 60,000 to 70,000 cwts. was the average, in 1873 the 

 shipments reached 146,484 cwts., valued at 85,300/., and in 1874 

 129,826 cwts., valued at 108,730Z. 



This palm begins to bear fruit after five years, and continues pro- 

 ductive for twenty-five years. It flowers in April and May, and the 

 nuts are ripe in October. The nuts most esteemed are those gathered 

 before they are quite ripe. 



An extensive commerce is carried on in the East in the fruit of 

 this palm, which forms a main ingredient in the Eastern masticatory. 

 Blume tells us, that the Asiatic nations would rather forego meat and 

 drink than their favourite betelnuts, whole shiploads of which are 

 annually exported from difi'erent quarters. One hundred millions of 

 people use the betelnut. There are said to be twenty different species 

 of Areca, but probably many of these are only varieties. This palm 

 often grows 50 feet high, with a diameter of less than two feet ; it 

 has no branches. The fruit, a drupe, about the size of a pullet's 

 egg, does not fall from the tree even when ripe ; it has a yellowish 

 shell ; thin, with arched veins, cohering with the pulp all round. 



It is stated, that a fruitful palm will produce, on an average, 850 

 nuts annually, but the mean may be taken at 300 nuts. The average 

 production in a plantation is about 10,000 lbs. of nuts per acre. 



A cargo of betelnuts generates so much heat, that the crew cannot 

 sleep between decks. A good tooth-powder is made from the nuts. 

 When turned they are used for bracelets. In the Cossyah or Khasia 

 country, the natives measure distances by the number of mouths of 

 betelnuts chewed on the road. 



In the island of Yap, Western Paciflc, the betelnut tree is culti- 

 vated with the greatest care. It is a beautiful slender palm, and 

 grows amongst the cocoanut trees, which it resembles in appearance. 

 The nuts are pulled before they are ripe, and are chewed with the 

 usual condiments, lime and aromatic leaves, by both sexes. They are 



