BETEL-NUT

the narcotic seed of the areca, or betel, palm of tropical Asia. It is about the size of a nutmeg and is enveloped by a thick husk. It is _ best known as a popular oriental masticatory, pieces of it being for this purpose made into a pellet, or ‘‘pawn,’’ by rolling them in a leaf of the betel-plant (a close relative of the pepper-vine). <A little shell-lime is also frequently enclosed, and occasionally some aromatic. Southern Asia ties of both sexes and of all ages carry the pellets in small pouches and persistently, almost perpetually, chew them. The habit may be compared to tobacco-chewing, smoking, or snuff-taking in this country; or to cocaleaf chewing in South America. The exce ive saliva thus stimulated is red, and dyes the mouth and lips. Continuous use blackens the teeth, but addicts maintain that it strengthens the gums and aids digestion. The blackne of the teeth is not considered a defect, for it is an Oriental saying that ‘‘a white tooth is a dog’s tooth.’’ The betel pellet is often the only refreshment offered to callers on formal occasions. It is frequently presented wrapped in gold or silver leaf, and sometimes in elegant “‘betel-boxes.’’ ‘To refuse it, may give irreconcilable offence. The Filipinos wrap the nut in lime-smeared leaves of the Buyo, a trailing plant native to the islands.