146 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



large head of compound winged leaves. The leaflets are 

 wedge-shaped, with curious torn edges. This plant also yields 

 a kind of sago. Its fruit is about the size of a small plum, 

 having a red rind which is acrid and burning, hence its specific 

 name. A woolly pubescence is produced on the stem, called 

 Amadou^ which was formerly used as tinder. 



Sago {Sagus Icevis and S. Rumphii^ by some botanists 

 called Metroxylon Icevis and M. Eumphii), natives of Siam, 

 the Indian Archipelago, and other islands in the Eastern 

 Ocean. They grow in clumps, or are gregarious, generally 

 in wet places, attaining the height of from 30 to 50 feet ; the 

 trunk varies from 6 inches to 1 foot in diameter, surmounted 

 by a plumose crown of winged leaves. The sago is obtained 

 by cutting down the tree and then splitting the trunk. The 

 soft white centre or pith is loosened from the hard wood, 

 and thrown into tanks of water, in which it is repeatedly 

 washed and strained until a pure, pulpy paste is obtained. 

 In this state, in order to preserve it, the natives keep it 

 under water, and it forms a large proportion of their food. 

 For exportation it is dried, and granulated through sieves. 

 Sago is also procured from other palms, natives of the Indian 

 and Malayan Archipelago, especially from Saguerus saccha- 

 rifer, which has a stout trunk attaining a height of 40 to 

 50 feet, bearing large winged leaves. This palm j)robably 

 produces the largest leaves of any plant, a specimen at Kew 

 having leaves which, together with their sheathing base, 

 measure 40 feet in length. 



Betel Nut {Areca Catechu). A native of Cochin China, 

 the Malayan peninsula, and islands. It is a slender stemmed, 

 lofty palm, with regular pinnate leaves and long linear 

 leaflets. The fruit is borne on an erect spadix, and is about 

 the size of a hen's egg, covered with a thick fibrous red rind, 

 which envelopes a hard nut. The nut is cut into pieces 

 and rolled up in a leaf of the Betel pepper, and chewed as 

 tobacco is in this country. This is practised by the whole of 

 the Indian and Malayan races ; indeed, it is said that many 

 would rather forego their food than the use of the Betel Nut. 



