382 



THE AGRICULTUEAL NEWS. 



December 1, 1906. 



THE ECONOMIC USES OF THE PALMS. 



The following is the concluding portion of the 

 summary of Mr. Buttenshaw's paper on the economic 

 uses of the palms : — 



SA(.;0 PALMS. 



Sago is a starchy substance obtained from the pith of 

 several palms. Sago of commerce is obtained from the pith 

 of Mdro.itjlon Sayu, a tree growing to a height of 40 to 

 50 feet, with a trunk from 1 foot to 2 feet in diameter. 

 The palm lives to an age of about fifteen to twenty years, 

 when it flowers. The flowers take about three years to ripen. 

 To obtain sago, the palms are cut down when the inflorescence 

 appears. The trunk is cut into logs 6 or 7 feet long, and 

 these are split into two. The stem consists of a thin, 

 hard wall, about 2 inches thick, and of an enormous volume 

 of a spongy medullary substance. The pithy matter is taken 

 out and powdered ; the powder is mixed with water and 

 the starch obtained in the usual way by suspension. It is 

 Stated that a single tree will yield 500 Ih. to 800 R). of sago. 

 The imports of sago into Great IJritain practicallj- all 

 come from the Straits Settlements. 



Aroiga saccharifern is the ilalaj'an sago palm, very 

 commonly cultivated in India. The heart of the stem contains 

 large C[uantities of farinaceous matter. 



WISE PALMS. 



Palm wine or toddy is obtained by cutting the spadices 

 (or flower-stalks) of several palms, the principal being the 

 •wine palm {Cari/ota tircns), which is not vincommon in West 

 Indian gardens. It is a native of the East Indies. It yields 

 from the spathe (i.e., the leaf which envelops the inflorescence) 

 a cpiantity of toddy or palm wine. From its trunk, a kind 

 of sago is obtained which is made by the natives into bread 

 or a kind of gruel. 



The cut flower-stalks of Arenga sarchai-ifint and Nijia 

 fruficans also yield a sugary sap which is made into wine. 



FIBRE-PRODUCING PALMS. 



Palm fibres rarely attain sufficient development to be of 

 much commercial utility. Many of them, however, have 

 important uses among the natives of tropical countries, 

 being used for making cordage, hammocks, etc. It will 

 be possible to mention here only a few of the most 

 important. 



Some of these fibres are obtained from the leaflets, 

 others from the petioles (or foot-stalks) of the leaf, while in 

 other cases the spathe (the large bract which sheaths the 

 unfolded inflorescence) and the fruit (as in the cocoa-nut) 

 afl'ord the fibre. 



Of palm leaf fibres, the best known is raffia, obtained by 

 peeling off the cuticle of the leaflets of JiapJiia Jiiijfia, 

 a iladagascar palm. This is the fibre which is in such 

 common use among gardeners. From the oil palm leaf 

 a fibre is obtained which has been described as being ' as fine 

 and tenacious as human hair.' Vegetable hair of commerce 

 is furnished by the dwarf palm of northern Africa {C/iamne- 

 rops /luiiillis). 



The best known of the petiole fibres are the various 

 forms of piassava or bass. The following are recognized in 

 the trade : Bahia (Attalra funiftra), Para {Leopoldinn 

 Piaxs'iUi), Kittool (from the wine palm, Cari/ota urcns), 

 Palmyra {Ilonissus jlaM/i/orntis, West African {liaphia 

 vinifara), and Madag,,scar (Dicli/ospenita Jihruaum). These 

 iibres are utilized in the manufacture of brooms and brushes : 



thus, the stiffest of all brushes, viz., the large, horse-drawn- 

 .street-sweeiiing machines, are made from Bahia pias.sava. 



Spathe fibres, as for example, that obtained from the 

 Bussu palm in British Guiana {Maniraria sarcithri) are 

 made into caps, bags, mats, etc. 



The best exam])le of a fruit fibre is coir, obtained froia 

 the fibrous husk of the cocoa-nut palm. 



I'IMBEE-PRODUUING PALMS. 



On account of the soft nature of the interior of their 

 stems, few of the palms produce timber of any value. Some 

 of the hollow stems are used as drains or water channels, 

 being fairly durable. 



Malacca and Rattan canes are furnished by species of 

 Calamus, the latter being much used in furniture makinw. 

 From the stems of Lk-uala the well-known 'Penang Lawyers' 

 are obtained. !Many other palms provide walking sticks, 

 notably the gru-gru. 



MISCELLANEOUS PALM PRODUCTS. 



Vegetable ivory, the chief substitute for elephant ivory, 

 is obtained from the hard seeds of I'hpiclcphas macrocarpa, 

 which inhabits the banks of rivers in Central America. As 

 the fruit grows old, the sweet milky juice .solidifies into 

 a substance as hard and white as ivory. This is chiefly 

 used for making billiard balls. The seeds of another 

 palm (Metroxi/lon amicaruin) are also called ivory nuts. 

 Coquilla nuts (from Attalca fimiU'ra). too, are largely used 

 in turnery work. 



A resin, known as ' Dragon's blood,' is obtained from 

 Datmonorojis Draco and several species of Dracaena. The 

 fan-like leaves ot Copernicia cert/era are covered ivith a thin 

 coating of a waxy material. This is known as vegetable wax. 

 Brazil exported, in 1903, £12.5,000 worth of this product. 

 Another palm, Ccroj-ylon amlicola, has a similar waxy deposit 

 on its stems. 



SEED PACKING FOR THE TROPICS. 



Th(- results of experiments with seeds sent from 

 Kew to St. Vincent, in ordinary paper packets, w^ere 

 reported to the Gardener.f' Clironicle by JMr. W. N. 

 Sands, the Agricultural Superintendent. The trials of 

 germination were carried out by Mr. W. IJ. Patterson, 

 Resident Master of the Agricultural School. 



Three te.^ts were made, viz., on arrival (in May), after one 

 month, and after two months, and in the case of beans and 

 peas, a fourth test after three months. The average germina- 

 tion of thirty-four kinds was: — 



(1) On arrival, 82 per cent, germinated. 



(2) After one month, 8 lA „ ,, „ 

 (.3) After two months, 70 ,, ,, ,, 



The average for the beans and peas was : — 



(1) On arrival, 90 per cent, germinated. 



(2) After one mouth, 90 „ „ 



(3) After two months, 81 ,, „ ,, 



(4) After three months, 80A ,, ,, ,, 



The average for some small seeds (giant onion, leek, parsnip, 

 and tomato) after two months was less, only 12 '.5 per cent. 



These results show, as Mr. Sands says, that seeds can 

 be safely sent to the tropics in pajier packets, but should not 

 be kept over three months before sowing. It would be 

 interesting to know if this would apply to very small seeds. 



