the Fausel-nut, in botany, a genus of the order of palmaceae. The male has no calyx, but three petals, and nine stamens; the female has no calyx; the corolla has three petals, and the calyx is imbricated. There are two species, viz,

1. The cathechu, a native of India. This has no branches, but its leaves are very beautiful: they form a round tuft at the top of the trunk, which is as straight as an arrow. It grows to the height of 25 or 35 feet, and is a great ornament in gardens. The shell which contains the fruit is smooth without, but rough and hairy within; in which it pretty much resembles the shell of the cocoa nut. Its size is equal to that of a pretty large walnut. Its kernel is as big as a nutmeg, to which it bears a great resemblance without, and has also the same whitish veins within when cut in two. In the centre of the fruit, when it is soft, is contained a greyish and almost liquid substance, which grows hard in proportion as it ripens. The extract of this nut has been supposed to be the terra japonica of the shops, at least that it is a very similar substance both in colour and taste: But according to later observations, the genuine drug seems to be obtained from the Mimoza Cathechu. The fruit when ripe is altrangent, but not unpalatable, and the shell is yellowish. Of this fruit there is a prodigious consumption in the East Indies, there being scarce any person, from the richest to the poorest, who does not make use of it; and the trade they drive in it is incredible. The chief use that is made of areca is to chew it with the leaves of betel, mixing with it lime made of shell fish*. In order to chew it, they cut the areca into four quarters, and take one quarter of it, which they wrap up in a leaf of betel, over which they lay a little of the lime; afterwards they tie it, by twisting it round. This bit prepared for mastication is called pinang; which is a Malayan word used all over the East Indies. The pinang provokes spitting very much, whether it be made with dried or fresh areca; the spittle is red, which colour the areca gives it. This mastication cools the mouth, and fastens the teeth and gums. When they have done chewing the pinang, they spit out the gross substance that remains in the mouth. They are under a mistake who imagine that fresh areca melts entirely in the mouth. Nor is it a less mistake to think that the teeth which are tinged red during the time of chewing, always retain that colour. As soon as they have done chewing the pinang, they wash their mouth with fresh water, and then their teeth are white again. The Europeans who live at Batavia, or Malacca, and in the Sunda and Molucca islands, use pinang as much as the Indians do; and by washing their teeth they preserve them white. Some pretend that areca strengthens the stomach, when the juice of it is swallowed, as most of the Indians do. Another property ascribed to it is, its curing or carrying off all that might be unwholesome or corrupt in the gums. When eaten by itself, as is sometimes done by the Indians, it impoverishes the blood, and causes the jaundice; but is not attended with these inconveniences when mixed in the usual way with betel. The Samoans call it plou in their language. The best areca of the Indies comes from the island of Ceylon. The Dutch East-India Company send a great deal of it in their ships into the kingdom of Bengal. There grows in Malabar a sort of red areca, which is very proper for dyeing in that colour. The same company fend fome- ARE

Some of it from time to time to Surat and Amadabat, for the use of the dyers in the dominions of the Grand Mogul.

2. The oleracea, or true cabbage-palm, is the most beautiful, and perhaps the tallest, of all trees. The trunk is perfectly straight, and marked with rings at the vestige of the footstalks of the leaves. Near the ground it is about seven feet in circumference; but tapers as it ascends, and attains the height of 170 or 200 feet. The bark is of an ash colour till within 25 or 35 feet of the extremity of the tree; when it alters at once to a deep sea green, which continues to the top. About five feet from the beginning of the green part upwards, the trunk is surrounded with its numerous branches in a circular manner; all the lowermost spreading horizontally with great regularity; and the extremities of many of the higher branches bend wavily downwards, like so many plumes of feathers. These branches, when full grown, are 20 feet long, more or less; and are thickly set on the trunk alternately, rising gradually superior one to another: Their broad curved sockets so surround the trunk, that the sight of it, whilst amongst these, is lost, which again appears among the very uppermost branches, and is there enveloped in an upright green conic spire, which beautifully terminates its great height. The above-mentioned branches are somewhat round underneath, and slightly grooved on the upper side: They are likewise decorated with a very great number of green pinnated leaves: Some of these are near three feet long, and an inch and an half broad, growing narrower towards their points, as well as gradually decreasing in length towards the extremities of the branches. As there are many thousand leaves upon one tree: every branch bearing many scores upon it, and every leaf being set at a small and equal distance from one another, the beauty of such a regular lofty group of waving foliage, susceptible of motion by the most gentle gale of wind, is not to be described. The middle rib, in each leaf, is strong and prominent, supporting it on the under side, the upper appearing smooth and shining. The pithy part of the leaf being scraped off, the inside texture appears to be so many longitudinal thread-like filaments. These, being spun in the same manner as they do hemp, or flax, are used in making cordage of every kind, as well as fishing nets, which are esteemed stronger than those usually made from any other material of the like nature.

Upon removing the large leaves, or branches, which surround the top of the trunk a little way above the beginning of the green bark just mentioned, what is called the cabbage is discovered lying in many thin, snow-white brittle flakes, in taste resembling an almond, but sweeter. This substance, which cannot be procured without destroying the tree, is boiled, and eaten with mutton by the inhabitants of the West Indies, in the same manner as turnips and cabbage are with us; though it must appear the height of extravagancy and luxury to fell so stately a tree, which would be an ornament to the most magnificent palace in Europe, to gratify the taste of an epicure, especially as there is but a very small part of it eatable. What is called the cabbage-flower, grows from that part of the tree where the ash coloured trunk joins the green part already described. Its first appearance is a green husky spathe, growing to above 20 inches long and about four broad; the inside being full of small white stringy filaments, full of alternate protuberant knobs, the left of these resembling a fringe of coarse white thread knotted: these are very numerous and take their rise from larger footstalks; and these footstalks likewise are all united to different parts of the large parent-stalk of all. As this husky spathe is opened while thus young, the farinaceous yellow seed in embryo, resembling fine saw-dust, is very plentifully dispersed among these stringy filaments, which answer the use of apices in other more regular flowers: these filaments being cleared of this dust, are pickled, and esteemed among the best pickles either in the West Indies or in Europe. But this spathe is not cut down and opened whilst thus young; if it be suffered to continue on the tree till it grows ripe and burnt; then the inclosed part, which whilst young and tender is fit for pickling, will by that time have acquired an additional hardness, become soon after ligneous, grow bulky, consisting of very many small leaves, and in time produce a great number of small oval thin-shelled nuts, about the bigness of unhusked coffee-berries: These, being planted, produce young cabbage-trees.

The sockets or grooves, formed by the broad part of the footstalks of the branches, are used by the negroes as cradles for their children. On the inner side of the very young footstalks are tender pellicles, which when dried, it is said, make a writing paper. The trunks serve as gutterings; the pith makes a sort of fagot; and the nuts yield oil by decoction. In the pith also, after the trees are felled, there breeds a kind of worms, or grubs, which are eaten and esteemed a great delicacy by the French of Martinico, St Domingo, and the adjacent islands. These worms, says father Labat, are about two inches long, and of the thickness of one's finger; the head is black, and attached to the body without any distinction of neck. Their preparation for the table is as follows: They are strung on wooden skewers before a fire; and as soon as heated, are rubbed over with rafplings of crust, salt, pepper, and nutmeg: this powder absorbs all the fat, which during the cookery would otherwise escape; when properly roasted, they are served up with orange or citron sauce. These worms being exposed for some time to the sun, are said to yield an oil which is of great efficacy in the piles. The oil in question, says Labat, is never to be heated before its application to the part affected; as repeated experiments have evinced that its spirit is totally dissipated by the fire.