386 



CUTCH. 



brisk fire in mud jars, called garrahs, filled witli about two-thirds of 

 water. This is allowed to boil down, till, with the extracted matter, 

 'it forms a liquid of syrupy consistence. The contents of several jars 

 are then poured into a larger jar and then placed over a brisk fire for 

 a period of from two to four hours, and, when sufficiently boiled 

 down, it is poured out over mats covered with ashes of cowdung and 

 allowed to dry. The w^ood when dry is used for fuel. 



The King of Burmah has the monopoly of this manufacture, of 

 which a considerable quantity is exported. An official report, pub- 

 lished at Eangoon, says : 



" The reservation of the Acacia Catechu for the production of cutch, 

 in portions of the Thayet and Prome districts of British Burmah, has 

 been of much advantage to the trade, for the following figures show, 

 that whilst during the last year or two there has been a large falling 

 off in the imports from Upper Burmah, the out-turn within British 

 territory has increased : 





Year. 



Exports from 

 Pegu. 



Imported from 

 Upper Burmala. 



Balance pro- 

 duced in Pegu. 







1871- 72 



1872- 73 



1873- 74 



1874- 75 



mds. 

 224,564 

 416,987 

 247,468 

 274,436 



mds. 

 97,536 

 153,628 

 62,581 

 50,163 



' mds. 



127,028 



263,359 



184,887 



224,273 





" There should be no serious objection to reserving further areas 

 for the growth of this tree on the banks of the Naweng river in the 

 Prome district, by which stream firewood and the cutch manufacture 

 could easily be brought to market. There is a great demand for fuel 

 for the river steamers, and the present supply is by no means of first- 

 class quality ; at the same time, the cutch market is in a satisfactory 

 state, and is likely to continue so." 



Other kinds of catechu are j)repared in India. The commonest kind 

 is that from the nut of the Areca Catechu. Heyne gives the following 

 as the mode of preparation in Mysore : — The nuts are boiled for some 

 hours in an iron vessel, which furnishes the astringent extract called 

 kossa, which is black, and mixed with paddy husks and other im- 

 purities. After the nuts are dried, they are put into a fresh quantity 

 of water and boiled again, and this water being inspissated like the 

 former, yields the best kind of catechu, called cooney. It is yellowish- 

 brown, has an earthy fracture, and is free from the admixtm*e of 

 foreign bodies. 



The betel nuts are prepared for use in various ways. They are boiled, 

 and when the water has become red and thick the nuts are taken out, 

 cut in slices with a simple lever cutter, and dried in the sun ; they are 

 then once more steeped in the liquid and again dried. From the 

 decoction of the nuts two kinds of catechu are obtained, one called 

 cattacumboo, is used as a masticatory chewed with the betel leaf ; the 

 other, called cash cuttie, is used medicinally as an astringent. 



The collection and preparation of the betel nuts are described under 

 the head of the Betel Palm, p. 279. 



