70 8HUIT, OH THE DliTEL VINE, 



snmpti >u and admits of a considerable quantity being 

 sent to Keddah, which last country formerly supplied 

 Penang \\ rlh a large portion of its annual demand. 

 About 6,030 e Utings are planted by Malays in one 

 orlon<^; but 3,003 would' be a sufficient number to 

 insure permanency to the plantation. To each plant 

 a post of b on sco ■ r some other durable woad, from 7 to 

 10 feel high, PI n^eJ ; wlieJi tlie vine has reached the 

 height of abiut 6 feet, it is bent down and laid in the 

 earth, whi.h process is, by some planters, twice pels 

 formed, and one of the strongest shoots arising from it 

 is trained up the p >st ; it is twice detached at top 

 from the post, bent down about a fuot or two, then 

 twisted and again trained. 



The pi. .eking begins about the Cth or 8th month: 

 care is taken not to pluck oftener than once in every 

 20 days in dry weather. The number of pi lickings, 

 in a year, is about twenty-five, and the average of 

 each is 00 leaves for each vine. 



The produce, during the succeeding twelve months, 

 will be 03,000 bundles. 



The rental, yearly, of the above number of vines is 

 now about 213 Sp. dollars, and the amount which 

 may be realized by a leisurely sale of (he same may 

 be considered nearly '> Sp. dollars ty-'lOO, land iuclud- 

 ed. In this instance, as with mostly every other Pe- 

 nang product, the real value of a plantation cannot be 

 ascertained from knowing the rent it bears, and vice 

 versa. The rows are cleaned once in two months, 

 and manure is applied twice a year where the soil re* 

 quires it ; the vines are topped in a line with the heads, 

 of the pities, which, bring portions of a split tree, are 

 rough and afford sinuosities for the vine to cling to; the 

 leaves of the lateral branches and of the smaller shoots 

 only are pulled. In Penang, the betel-leaf is, within 

 certain limits, farmed out for revenue. Within these Ik 



