of chewing. To the
chew a quid of tobacco is sometimes added. A native can go a great
number of hours without food if he has his betel; it is said to be
stomachical. After many years of habit in chewing this nut and leaf
it becomes almost a necessity, as is the case with opium, and it is
believed that its use cannot, with safety, be suddenly abandoned. To
the newly-arrived European, it is very displeasing to have to converse
with a native betel-eater, whose teeth and lips appear to be smeared
with blood. The _buyo_ plant is set out on raised beds and trained
(like hops) straight up on sticks, on which it grows to a height of
about 6 feet. The leaf is of a bright green colour, and only slightly
pointed. In all market-places, including those of Manila, there is
a great sale of this leaf, which is brought fresh every day.

_Cocoanut_ (_Cocos nucifera_) plantations pay very well, and there is a
certain demand for the fruit for export to China, besides the constant
local sales in the _tianguis_. [143] _Niog_ is the Tagalog name for
the cocoanut palm. Some tap the tree by making an incision in the
flowering (or fruit-bearing) stalk, under which a bamboo vessel, called
a _bombon_, is hung to receive the sap. This liquid, known as _tuba_,
is a favourite beverage among the natives. As many as four stalks of
the same trunk can be so drained simultaneously without injury to the
tree. In the bottom of the _bombon_ is placed about as much as a desert
spoonful of pulverized _Tongo_ bark (_Rhizophora longissima_) to give a
stronger taste and bright colour to the _tuba_. The incision--renewed
each time the _bombon_ is replaced--is made with a very sharp knife,
to which a keen edge is given by rubbing it on wood (_Erythrina_)
covered with a paste of ashes and oil. The sap-drawing of a stalk
continues incessantly for about two months, when the stalk ceases to
yield and dries up. The _bombons_ containing the liquid are removed,
empty ones being put in their place every twelve hours, about sunrise
and sunset, and the seller hastens round to his clients with the
morning and evening draught, concluding his trade at the market-place
or other known centres of sale. If the _tuba_ is allowed to ferment,
it is not so palatable, and becomes an intoxicating drink. From the
fermented juice the distilleries manufacture a spirituous liquor,
known locally as cocoa-wine. The trees set apart for _tuba_ extraction
do not produce nuts, as the fruit-formin