4IO POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



Now the fronds of the uhussu palm are not like either of these, 

 but stand out from the trunk and behave in every way like pinnate 

 fronds except that instead of being pinnate they are entire. The wind 

 often whips these leaves in pieces, until they bear some resemblance to 

 the pinnate fronds. 



It is an interesting fact that those palms whose fronds are pinnate 

 at maturity have their first fronds entire. The coco palms, for 

 instance, have pinnate fronds, but when a young coco palm is sprouted 

 its first leaves are entire like those of the uhussu; so far as I can now 

 recall them, the same thing is true of all other palms having pinnate 

 leaves. With the uhussu this embryonic character has persisted into 

 maturity. It is this undivided leaf that is so extensively sought and 

 used for thatching houses. Besides being entire the uhussu leaves are 

 said to last for ten years as thatch. 



Another interesting and peculiar character of the uhussu palm ia 

 its spathe or flower sheath. Some of the palms have the spathes so 

 hard and woody that they are as stiff as if they were made of inch 

 boards; others have them rather leathery, and after the flowers open 

 the spathes shrivel up more or less or hang among the fruits and 

 flowers like rolls of brown or black cardboard. The spathe of the 

 uhussu is a slender, sharp-pointed and open-textured net or sack, not 

 unlike a piece of burlap. In most palms the spathe yields but little, 

 and when the flowers are ready to open it splits lengthwise and the 

 flowers push out through the rent. The spathe of the uhussu cannot 

 be split lengthwise; its fibers are tough and cloth-like and cross each 

 other at low angles, and as the cluster of flowers expands the spathe 

 stretches. In time, the fibers, on account of the great amount of 

 moisture within, decay, and the growing flowers or fruits tear the 

 spathe asunder, and it drops off in ragged fragments. The uhussu 

 spathe is utilized to some extent by the natives of the Amazonas valley. 

 It requires, however, to be cut before the flowers have expanded much. 

 It is simply cut off at the stem and is drawn from over the bunch of 

 flowers as one pulls off a close-fltting undershirt by stripping it over 

 his head. 



The cloth of this spathe is capable of a great deal of stretching if 

 care is taken to distribute the expansion evenly. This stretching can 

 best be done by wetting the spathe, putting the hands inside the sack 

 and gently forcing them apart. Sacks that are not more than an inch 

 or two across may thus be expanded to a diameter of one or two feet. 

 One may frequently see a suit of clothes for a small boy made of one 

 of these spathes. This is done by cutting off the pointed outer end of 

 the spathe and cutting two holes in opposite sides near one end. 



A picturesque and fairly comfortable hat can be made by pushing 

 one end of the uhussu sack inside, pulling it over the head and turning 



