148 
Notes  on  the  Areca  Palm. 
/Am.  Jodr.  Pharm. 
\Mar.  1874.  Suppl, 
depends  upon  their  appearance  when  cut  through,  "  intimating  the 
quantity  of  astringent  matter  contained  in  them.  If  the  white  or 
medullary  portion  which  intersects  the  red  or  astringent  part  be 
small,  and  has  assumed  a  bluish  tinge,  and  the  astringent  part  is  very 
red,  the  nut  is  considered  of  good  quality ;  but  when  the  medullary 
portion  is  in  large  quantity  the  nut  is  considered  more  mature,  and, 
not  possessing  as  much  astringency,  is  not  esteemed  so  valuable.'' 
The  nuts  are  usually  gathered  between  the  months  of  August  and 
November.  The  seeds  are  removed  from  the  husk  and  boiled  in 
water.  In  the  first  boiling  the  water  becomes  red  and  thick,  and  this 
is  afterwards  evaporated  into  catechu,  but  whether  it  is  imported  into 
this  country  as  a  commercial  article  is  uncertain.  The  mode  of  col- 
lecting the  catechu  in  Mysore  is  thus  described:  "The  nuts  are  taken 
as  they  come  from  the  tree,  and  boiled  for  some  hours  in  an  iron  ves- 
sel They  are  then  taken  out,  and  the  remaining  water  is  inspissated 
by  continual  boiling.  This  process  furnishes  Jcossa,  or  most  astrin- 
gent Terra  japonica,  which  is  black  and  mixed  with  paddy  husks  and 
other  impurities.  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  or  cleanest  kind  of  catechu,  called 
eoony.  It  is  yellowish  brown,  has  an  earthy  fracture,  and  is  free  from 
the  admixture  of  foreign  bodies." 
For  the  purpose  of  chewing,  the  nut  is  cut  into  narrow  strips  and 
rolled  up  with  lime  in  the  leaves  of  the  betel  pepper.  The  mixture 
has  a  hot  acrid  taste,  and  aromatic  and  astringent  properties.  The 
habitual  use  of  the  betel-nut  is  considered  by  the  natives  to  be  very 
wholesome,  but  the  effects  are  said  by  some  to  be  due  as  much  to  the 
ingredients  used  with  it  as  the  areca  nut  itself.  Its  constant  use 
causes  the  teeth  to  become  black  and  the  mouth  and  lips  of  a  brick 
red  color.  In  some  parts  of  China  the  nuts,  bruised  and  powdered, 
are  mixed  with  the  green  food  given  to  horses,  and  they  are  thus  con- 
sidered a  preventive  against  diarrhoea.  In  the  north  of  China  small 
pieces  of  the  nut  are  boiled  and  the  decoction  is  taken  as  a  domestic 
remedy  in  various  visceral  affections. 
Though  the  use  of  the  betel  as  a  masticatory  turns  the  teeth  black, 
it  is  said  to  preserve  them  from  decay  in  a  remarkable  manner,  and 
this  may  be  the  reason  why  some  English  chemists  have  introduced 
the  pulverized  charcoal  into  this  country  as  a  tooth  powder. 
In  Borneo  the  flowers,  which  are  fragrant,  are  mixed  with  medi- 
