BETEL NUT. The name betel is applied to two different plants, which in the East are very closely associated in the purposes to which they are applied. The betel nut is the fruit of the Areca or betel palm, A reca Catechu, and the betel leaf is the produce of the betel vine or pan, Chavica Betel, a plant allied to that which yields black pepper. The areca palm is a graceful tree, which appears to be indigenous over a wide area in the East, including Southern India, Ceylon, Siam, the Malay Archipelago, and the Philippine Islands, in the whole of which it is extensively cultivated. The fruit of the palm is about the size of a small hen’s egg, and within its fibrous rind is the seed or so-called nut, the albumen of which is very hard and has a prettily mottled grey and brown appearance. The chief purpose for which betel nuts are cultivated and collected is for use as a masticatory,—their use in this form being so wide-spread among Oriental nations that it is estimated that one-tenth of the whole human family indulge in betel chewing. For this use the fruits are annually gathered between the months of August and November, before they are quite ripe, and deprived of their husks. They are prepared by boiling in water, cutting up into slices, and drying in the sun, by which treatment the slices assume a dark brown or black colour. When chewed a small piece is wrapped up in a leaf of the betel vine or pan, with a pellet of shell lime or chunam; and in some cases a little cardamom, turmeric, or other aromatic is added. The mastication causes a copious flow of saliva of a brick-red colour, and gives the mouth, lips, and gums of the chewer a repulsive appearance. The habit blackens the teeth, but it is asserted by those addicted to it that it strengthens the gums, sweetens the ...