1613.—"And then on from the marsh to the Nypeiras or wild-palms of the rivulet of Paret China."—Godinho de Eredia, 6.
" "And the wild palms called Nypeiras ... from those flowers is drawn the liquor which is distilled into wine by an alembic, which is the best wine of India."—Ibid. 16v.
[1817.—"In the maritime districts, atap, or thatch, is made almost exclusively from the leaves of the nípa or búyu."—Raffles, H. of Java, 2nd ed. i. 185.]
1848.—"Steaming amongst the low swampy islands of the Sunderbunds ... the paddles of the steamer tossed up the large fruits of the Nipa fruticans, a low stemless palm that grows in the tidal waters of the Indian ocean, and bears a large head of nuts. It is a plant of no interest to the common observer, but of much to the geologist, from the nuts of a similar plant abounding in the tertiary formations at the mouth of the Thames, having floated about there in as great profusion as here, till buried deep in the silt and mud that now form the island of Sheppey."—Hooker, Himalayan Journals, i. 1-2.
1860.—"The Nipa is very extensively cultivated in the Province of Tavoy. From incisions in the stem of the fruit, toddy is extracted, which has very much the flavour of mead, and this extract, when boiled down, becomes sugar."—Mason's Burmah, p. 506.
1874.—"It (sugar) is also got from Nipa fruticans, Thunb., a tree of the low coast-regions, extensively cultivated in Tavoy."—Hanbury and Flückiger, 655.
These last quotations confirm the old travellers who represent Tenasserim as the great source of the Nipa spirit.
b.—
c. 1567.—"Euery yeere is there lade (at Tenasserim) some ships with Verzino, Nipa, and Benjamin."—Ces. Federici (E.T. in Hakl.), ii. 359.
1568.—"Nipa, qual'è vn Vino eccellentissimo che nasce nel fior d'vn arbore chiamato Niper, il cui liquor si distilla, e se ne fa vna beuanda eccellentissima."—Ces. Federici, in Ramusio, iii. 392v.