BY J. H. MAIDEN. 137 



eat it) that it would hide the bullocks. Robins informed me 

 that he has been using his best endeavours to eradicate it for the 

 past five years. With difficulty he collected for me two or three 

 .specimens. In habit the plant seems to be more like J. pallidiis, 

 but in the absence of stamens and seeds one could not say that it 

 is not maritimus. 



'SklM.M. 



The mountain roads, or rather tracks through the palms extend 

 for miles, and words cannot describe the exquisite beauty of the 

 scenery. After the first few hundred feet of ascent, the palm in 

 greatest abundance is " Curly Palm " (Kentia BelmorecDia), and 

 apart from the beautiful mountain and marine scenery, the 

 marvellous profusion of palms of all sizes, their overhanging 

 foliage frequently meeting overhead, made an impression on me 

 that will never be effaced from my memoiy. 



Collection of Palm-seeds. — The collection of palm-seeds (fruits), 

 or " seeding " as it is commonly called, is the staple industry of 

 Lord Howe Island. Seeding is performed by climbing the trees, 

 work which is now mainly done by the boys of the island or 

 hired boys (usually lads indentured through the Charitable 

 Institutions Department of N.S.W.). They buckle a leather 

 strap (or strap extemporised from palm-leaves), pass it over both 

 ankles, and by its aid can " shin " the trees with a minimum of 

 fatigue. When the spikes of seeds are reached they are jerked off 

 by a smart downward pull; all the spikes are placed in one hand 

 and thus carried down to the ground. The fruits (seeds or 

 " nuts ") are then removed from the spike by holding the spike 

 firmly in one hand and pressing each fruit off by the thumb of 

 the other. 



The average load down the rocky mountain paths is one and a 

 half bushels for strong boys of say 1.5 years of age, and perhaps 

 two bushels for an ordinary man. The maximum load is three 

 bushels, l)ut this is only carried by the strongest young men, and 

 perhaps the carrying of so heavy a load has something of braA^ado 

 in it, for when they arrive at the coast level they are usually 

 10 



