102 PALM TREES 



little cocoa-nuts, and on one estate on the Upper Ama- 

 zon where I was staying, they had scarcely anything else 

 to eat during a part of the year but those which had 

 passed through the stomachs of the cows. They might 

 constantly be seen cracking the shell with their powerful 

 jaws, and grinding up the hard kernels, on which the 

 teeth of few other animals could make any impression. 

 They not only existed on this food, but in some cases 

 got actually fat upon it. The black vultures (Cathartes) 

 occasionally eat the outer covering of this and other 

 palm fruits, when hard-pushed for food. 



This tree grows on the tide-flooded lands of the 

 Lower Amazon and on the margins of the rivers and 

 gapos of the Upper Amazon, though it is possible that 

 the two may be distinct species. The specimen figured 

 is from near Para. There are living plants in the 

 Palm House at the Royal Kew Gardens. 



A portion of a leaf is enlarged to show the spines, 

 and a fruit is represented of the natural size. 



