376 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



wanted. The thick, fibrous envelope of the nut has been much- 

 used of late years in Europe. After being macerated, the fibers, 

 called coir or cair, are combed. Ropes made of them are elastic 

 and hardy against decay. They are worked into articles of 

 esparto and brushes, and we tread them under feet in cocoa mat- 

 tings. From the hard shell of the nut are made cups and dishes, 

 which are susceptible of a ready polish, and can be carved. The 

 leaves can be utilized, like those of other palms, but lack the sup- 

 pleness of the leaves of other kinds. 



Not all the species of Cocos bear fruits as large as those of 

 nucifera. The small species also contribute to the maintenance 

 of man and industries. A considerable trade is carried on in the 

 little cocoa of Central America (Cocos lapidea), which is some- 

 times called the " convicts' cocoa," because prisoners polish or 

 carve the hard egg-sized shells of the nuts, and make of them 

 balls for mending stockings, bead-boxes, tobacco-boxes, and toys 

 to sell to visitors. The same shell is in favor for making fancy 

 buttons. 



Some other species of palm bear eatable or oleaginous fruits. 

 The reddish -yellow, acorn-shaped fruits of the Paripon of Guiana 

 (Guilielma speciosa) is highly esteemed. It is cultivated under 

 different names in all the Central American countries. Beverages, 

 and often alcohol, are obtained from the fruits of several other 

 species. The Avoira, or oil palm, of Africa (Elo?is guineensis) is, 

 after the cocoa, the most important of the palms as a commercial 

 object. The numerous fruit-clusters of this palm, twice as large 

 as a man's head, contain many fruits of the size of a walnut, the 



external envelope of which 

 is charged with " palm- 

 oil," a fat that is much 

 used in soap-making, and 

 is esteemed by Africans as 

 an aliment. The kernel of 

 the fruit affords an oil 

 superior in limpidity and 

 savor to that of the peri- 

 carp. The African prod- 

 uct of avoira fruits is es- 

 timated at one hundred 

 thousand tons a year. 

 The manufacture of textile fabrics from palm-leaves has not 

 been fully experimented upon. A few Central American palms 

 and the oil-palm afford a strong and very fine fiber. 



Horticulturists have made much of palm-trees, and they are 

 now abundant in the flower markets. The Bourbon palm (Livis- 

 tonia sinensis) ; date palms of several species ; dwarf palms and 



Fig. 7. 



-Fruit and Nut of Betel Palm, entire and 



in SECTION. 



