Chap.V].] 



THE PALMYRA PALif. 



521 



is given by Mr. Fergusox\ professes to describe the 

 creation of the pahnyra, and the " eight hundred and 

 one" uses to which the tree is apphed. It opens by 

 describing the various productions of the earth, created 

 by Brahma, as insufficient for the wants of mankind ; 

 one substance l^eing still desired capable of "assuaging 

 hunger and curing disease, feeding the people and en- 

 riching the race," and men in then- distress and per- 

 plexity, " trembhng hke water on the leaf of the lotus," 

 made poojahs, and prayed to Siva for rehef Siva heard 

 theu^ prayers, and sternly called upon Vishnu to explain 

 the neglect of his function of preservation. Vishnu 

 attributes the blame to the insufficient provision of 

 Brahma for the wants of mankind, and Brahma being 

 called to account, trembled in his turn, and "mth his 

 finger under his under hp," pleaded that he had exerted 

 his power of creation to the utmost of his knowledge. 

 Siva, thus baffled, directs Brahma to transplant the 

 Kalpa tree from Paradise to earth. Brahma obeyed, 

 and " at the injunction of Siva adorned with the cres- 

 cent moon, he created in abundance the heavenly tree 

 palmyra." 



Of all the palms, the palmyra, with the exception of 

 the date, has probably the widest geographical distri- 

 bution ; it extends from the confines of Arabia to the 

 isles of Amboyna and Timor, and is found in every region 

 of Hindustan, from the Indus to Siam. It is cultivated 

 more or less in every district of Ceylon, but plantations on 

 a vast scale are exclusively confined to the district of 

 Jaffiia.^ 



^ Essay on the Pahn;/m, ^-c. 

 Appx. p. 1. The Tamil author was 

 Arunachalam, of Conibaconiim, iu 

 Taujore. In his hands the 801 uses 

 of the palm dwindles into a very 

 small proportion of that number. 



^ IluMrKiiTS, iu his account of the 

 palmyra in the Ilcrb/ininit Aiiiboinctise, 

 quaintly says: " It is truly remarkable 

 that tlie two nuts of India, the coco- 



nut and the palmj-ra, cherish such 

 secret envy anil hatred towards each 

 other, that they will not f>row in the 

 same field, nor in one and the samo 

 region, which however must be 

 attributed to the great wisdom of 

 the CreJitor, who is imwilling tliat 

 these trees, so productive and so 

 necessaiy to the human race, shoidd 

 STOW ill the same localitv. "We sec 



