108 THE PLANT WOELD 



Rain Coats. — One rainy afternoon several Cubans came to our 

 camp dressed in coats made of the green (freshly fallen) stalk. A hole 

 had been cut out of the center through which the head was thrust, and 

 the two halves bent so as to cover the front and back. A string torn 

 off the edge of the same piece was used to tie it around the waist, the 

 whole making a peculiar but efficient coat of mail. 



Boxes and Baskets. —S<[ii\\ a sharp knife which all Cubans carry, a 

 few minutes suffices to make one of these leaf bases into a receptacle 

 capable of holding water, vegetables, or similar things. Cuban tobacco 

 is always bound up and shipped from the plantations in a large bundle 

 wrapped in the bases of the leaf stalks. 



Thatch. — All Cuban houses outside of the towns have their roofs 

 covered thickly with thatch made from the long leaves of the palm. It 

 is usually cut into two or three parts, and tied to the pole rafters with 

 palm, leaf string. 



String and Rope. — Either the split parts of the leaf base or the 

 division of the leaf are used, either tvdsted or not. No nails are used 

 in the construction of the houses, the poles, thatch and siding being 

 tied on. 



Canes. — A strip of the wood worked round and polished, makes a 

 I^resentable cane. 



Brooms. — The flower stalk and its divisions is a large affair. With 

 the berries off, it is bound about its center, and the numerous small 

 twigs are ready for work. It is a common article of every Cuban house, 

 and the dirt floors and surroundings are kept well swept. 



Chicken and Pig Feed. — The bunches of berries are carefully cut 

 off and lowered by a palm leaf rope to the ground, and then laid across 

 the chicken or pig pen to be eaten as desired. 



Paper. — The inside layer of the base of the leaf stalk is very fine 

 and white, and is used for writing purposes. 



Wine. — This is made from the berries when in a green state. A 

 gun-shot fired into a bunch of fruit is sure to result in a shower of juice. 

 Woodpeckers are fond of this, and will tap the berries or the base of 

 the fresh leaf stalk and sip the juice. 



Nest of Woodpeckers. — The large Cuban woodpecker always exca- 

 vates a large hole about two-thirds up the trunk of a live tree, and rears 

 its young in the cavity. 



Food. — When a tree is felled, the mass of embryo leaves are cut 

 out, forming a lump about 18 inches long by 6-8 inches in diameter, of 

 beautiful creamy whiteness. 



Without the royal palm the i:»eople of Cuba would be poor indeed. 

 With the cocoanut, banana, sweet potato, and palm, they are able to 

 exist comfortably with a mild climate. 



Washington, D. C. 



