Bombay.] 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



dent of the consumption of this dye in the province of Malabar, large 

 quantities of it are exported to Guzerat, and the northern parts of Hin- 

 dostan, to the value of several lacs of rupees per annum. It is seldom 

 imported into Europe. 



Betel Nut, so called, but properly Areca Nut, is the fruit of the 

 Areca Palm, (Palma arecifera), a fine slender upright tree, not above 

 6 inches in diameter at bottom, and upwards of 30 tret high. The leaves 

 grow like those of the coco-nut tree, and the nuts are in clusters. The 

 husk, which is yellow on the outside, and brown and fibrous within, covers 

 a nut about the size of a nutmeg; shape somewhat conical : it is white, and 

 marbled within with purplish veins, of a light brown externally, moderately 

 astringent, and insipid to the taste. Tbe nut is grown in various parts of 

 India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and the Eastern Islands. 

 That produced on the Coast of Malabar is of two sorts, boiled and raw : 

 the former is the nut cut in slices, and boiled with a small quantity of 

 Terra Japonica, then dried, when it is fit for sale ; the other is the nut in 

 the state we see it. When new and good, the nut will have a whitish skin 

 on the broad end ; but when old, the skin is easily rubbed off. Those which 

 are worm-eaten and decayed, should be rejected. 



The largest supply of Betel Nut is from the Coast of Pedir, which 

 produces it in great abundance. These nuts are seldom imported into 

 England, though they might be of use in some manufactures. In Ccro- 

 mandel and Malabar they are used in dying cotton goods. Betel Nut is an 

 article of considerable trade from port to port in India ; and a very large 

 quantity is annually carried to China. 



Cardamoms are produced in several parts of India, but the best from 

 the Malabar Coast are usually brought to England. They are the produce 

 of the Amomum ■ Cardamomum, (HackU Hind. Ela, San.) a small plant, 

 growing in some places without cultivation ; in others they are propagated 

 by cuttings from the roots ; in the third year the plants come to perfection, 

 bearing abundantly for a year or two, and then die. The capsules are 

 gathered as they ripen, and when dried in the sun, are fit for sale. 



The usual crops raised in Malabar are estimated at about 100 candies, 

 which are distinguished by the places of their growth, and are esteemed as 

 follow : — 



I. Wynaad, which is said to produce *t — — Candies 65 



II. Tamaratchery ^%*^^**^v W ^->*^^^w^^ w %»'v^%*-»*->*^->^^^^* 3 



III. Cartinaad or Cadutinada — — wm*^***** — 2 



m Coorg v ~ 30 



K 2 



