THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



171 



inches in diameter, possessing ascending 

 or erect branches and fed by roots about 

 one-half inch in diameter and penetrat- 

 ing four to ten feet. The plants are 

 thought to reach an age of centuries when 

 undisturbed. Exceptionally, in very 

 rich soil, the trunk will rise vertically 

 even to six or eight feet. The petioles 

 are densely spiny-serrated, whence its 

 name, though in dense shade these ser- 

 ratures are wanting. In such situations 

 it rarely flowers and never fruits. The 

 effect of these interlacing, strong, serrat- 

 ed leaf-stalks upon travel and upon the 

 labor of road-making by new settlers can 

 be imagined. In hummocks the foliage 

 is of a deep green, while in open level 

 woodlands it exibits a yellowish shade, 

 and on the coast-fringe it is of a distinctly 

 bluish green, thus leading to the idea 

 among some observers that there are dis- 

 tinct species." It is generally regarded 

 as fruiting in alternate years, though 

 Mr. Amsden thinks that this depends 

 rather upon rainy and other character- 

 istics of the season. Probably both views 

 are correct. Abundant rain from May 

 to October usually insures a good crop. 

 Depending upon location, the time of 

 blooming varies from April to June. 

 Four mouths later the fruit turns from 

 pea green to a lemon-yellow color and in 

 four to six weeks more, it has become 

 black and glaucous, when it is deemed 

 ripe. The branching spadices, of which 

 there are several, form large pendulous 

 panicles in fruit, 18 to 24 inches long and 

 weighing 6 to 8 pounds. Four panicles, 

 yielding 40 pounds of fruit, have been 

 collected from one plant at Ormund. 

 Collection of fruit is often begun before 

 maturity in August and it extends into 

 January, or even in rare favorable seasons 

 into March. The fruit stem is clipped 

 with pruning shears and the fruit is 

 shaken into a basket. A bushel of fruit 

 weighs 54 pounds when fresh, and 30 to 



42 pounds when dried, according to the 

 extent to which the drying is carried. 

 Sun drying, on crates, requires two to 

 three weeks for fresh fruit, while that 

 which has become weather-cured dries 

 more quickly. 



It is estimated that the annual ship- 

 ments to New York, Philadelphia and 

 Baltimore reach 150 tons, the largest 

 amount from any one place, namely 30 

 tons, being shipped from Ormund. The 

 finest fruit is said to be taken, and the 

 best prices paid, by New York customers, 

 Philadelphia standing next, while the 

 driest and cheapest fruit is shipped to 

 Baltimore. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that 

 the Saw-Palmetto constitutes a very ex- 

 tensive natural product, easily collected 

 and prepared, and it becomes an im- 

 portant duty of patriotism, in the interest 

 of political economy, to find some valu- 

 able uses to which it can be put. Our 

 information as to such possible uses may 

 be summarized as follows : 



ECONOMIC USES. 



The "root," in which term as here 

 quoted is included the underground 

 trunk, is rich in tannin and is said to 

 have been successfully experimented with 

 as a tanning agent. The trunk is also 

 said to be a remarkable yielder of pot- 

 ash. The leaf and petioles are utilized 

 in the production of both fiber and paper 

 pulp. The flowers serve as one of the 

 most important foods of honey-bees and 

 the superior honey thus produced is 

 known in the market by the distinctive 

 title of " Palmetto Honey." The seed 

 is extremely hard and is used as a sub- 

 stitute for vegetable ivory in the man- 

 ufacture of beads and similar objects. 

 The pulp of the fruit forms one of the 

 most important foods of the wild animals 

 of the region where it is found. All ac- 

 counts agree that the fattening power of 



