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THE BETELNUT PALM. 



modes of preparing the nut for use in Travancore are as follows : — 

 Those used by families of rank are collected while the fruit is tender, 

 and the husk, or outer pod, is removed ; the kernel, a round fleshy- 

 mass, is boiled in water. In the first boiling of the nut, when pro- 

 perly done, the water becomes red, thick, and starch-like, and this is 

 afterwards evaporated into a substance like gambler or catechu. The 

 boiled nuts being now removed, sliced, and dried, the catechu-like 

 substance is rubbed on them, and when dried again in the sun they 

 become of a shining black colour, and are ready for use. Whole 

 nuts without being sliced are also prepared in the same way for use. 

 Ripe nuts, as well as young nuts in the raw state, are used by all 

 classes of people, and ripe nuts which have been steeped or kept in 

 water, are also used by the higher classes. 



At Pedir, Acheen, and other parts of the East, betelnuts are sold 

 by the loxa or laxar, which weighs about 168 lbs., and consists of 

 10,000 nuts, with from 10 to 25 per cent, added, according to the 

 bargain previously made, to make up for nuts which may be worm- 

 eaten or otherwise damaged. 



The nut is conical, but varies, in some having an elevated apex 

 and small base, in others a large base, and a very slightly elevated 

 apex. The nuts are gathered in July and August, though not fully 

 ripe till October. The quality of the nuts does not at all depend 

 upon their size, but upon their natui'al appearance when cut, indi- 

 cating the quantity of astringent matter contained in them. If the 

 white or medullary portion which intersects the red or astringent 

 part be small, has assumed a bluish tinge, and the astringent part 

 itself be red, the nut is considered of good quality ; but when the 

 medullary portion is in larger quantity, the nut is considered more 

 mature, does not possess so much astringency, and is therefore not 

 so much esteemed. 



The areca nut fibre is worthy of notice because of its capability of 

 being turned to many useful purposes, especially as it has a soft and 

 cotton-like feel, and is capable of being spun into twine. Moreover, 

 immense quantities of the husks are now thrown away, and should 

 this fibre be found capable of being made into paper, or turned to 

 other useful purposes, of which no doubt is entertained, it may be 

 collected in large quantities, and at little cost. 



The Nagar division of Mysore, in consequence of its hill tracts 

 and moist climate, offers peculiar facilities for the cultivation of this 

 palm. So we find almost every hut sheltered by a shady grove of 

 these trees, whose slender forms sway with the breeze, and whose 

 fringy tops, whilst murmuring amid the mountain solitude, cast a 

 fragrance around from their aromatic blossoms. 



The land most congenial to its growth seems to be a level cut on 

 the slope of a hill, or some sheltered valley rich in vegetable deposit. 

 That it is a tree requiring manuring like the plantain is obvious, from 

 the trees requiring trenching and manuring round annually to ensure 

 a good crop of nuts. 



The ripe nuts are gathered, and, after being peeled on a sharp 

 knife fixed on a board, are cut in two, and dried in the sun. Another 

 process is slicing the nut and parboiling it. 



