82 



A. Under surface of leaves green. 



B. Lig'ule with a blunt appendage at the middle. 



Thrina.v radiata. 

 B.B. Lig-ule bluntly triangular. T. ParvifoUa. 



B.B.B. Ligule inconspicuous, truncate. T. Barbadensis. 



A. A. Under surface of leaves silverv. 



B. Leai segments joined together at bases. T. ari!;ciifca. 



B.B. Leaf segments joined together for about one-third 



their length. T. cxcclsa. 



B.B.B. Leaf segments joined together for about one-half 



their length. T. mnUiflora. 



The flowering branches arise from among the leaf bases. They 



are long and slender, with numerous branchlets. The main axis 



of a flowering branch is clothed with thin, papery, tubular 



sheaths, split open along one side. The flowers themselves are 



small and are not brightly colored. The fruit is spherical, about 



the size of a pea, with a dark skin and juicy, bitter white flesh. 



The single central seed is thin shelled and brownish. Honolulu 



trees are commonly in fruit during April and May, the fruiting 



branches resembling gigantic clusters of small grapes (see figs. 



1 and 2). 



The Thrinaxes are widelv used as pot or tub plants, and less 

 commonly planted in the open. Thev grow somewhat slowly, 

 but demand little care. Their graceful appearance and easy cul- 

 ture has given their great popularity, and Thrinax ar^icntca is 

 one of the more common of the small palms in the Honolulu 

 region. 



SUGAR, TEA AND COFFEE. 



Some government statistics which have appeared recentlv 

 throw light upon British tastes, and the extraordinary cajiacitv 

 of British stomachs in certain directions. Thus the amount of 

 sugar we eat in one form or another is astounding. Wq import 

 more than one-tenth of the world's production, which was esti- 

 mated at 1.S.2.S0.000 tons in 1910. Of the total product, more 

 than half (8,600.000 tons') was cane sugar, and the rest beet. 

 Of beet sugar. Gcnnanv produced 2,000.000 tons last vear, and 

 it is the senn'-failure of the German crop that is mainly respon- 

 '^iljle for the shan:) rise in t:)rices. How serious this rise has been 

 T mav illustrate from the fact that it costs a laborer with sixteen 

 shillings a week and a V.wvic familv an additional sixpence a week. 

 With '^UGfar we naturally associate tea. and here atrain our con- 

 sumption is enormous, amounting in 1010 to nearly 287.000.000 

 nounds. But whv is coflFee (the national drink of the United 

 States) of so little accoimt here? Our consinnption of colTee 

 last vear was only iust over 20.000.000 pounds, about one-tenth 

 that of tea. — Liiccllmn. 



