722 



PALM 



natives of tli minttit- mi account of ito various 



products. Ii yields an abundant s\\eet sap. from 

 w hich a ehi>coiate eolouriHl sugar nniiKil j":l'l"'!/ is 

 niatle. Tin- SHIP fermented makes an intoxicating 

 drink variously named l>y tin- inhabitants of the 

 ditlcrent countiies in'i'mi or linnn. Fiom tin- pith of 

 tin- stem -:\x is obtained in great iinaiitity, a single 

 stem yielding as much a-- from I ."ill to INK! III. The 

 leave^ supply H-muili, Jilirf. which is celebrated for 

 it* great strength and durability when formed into 

 mrdagc and ro|>es, and at tin- lise of the U-IIM- a 

 lint- woolly material, named burn, is ii .velo|>cd in 

 mature tices. wliirli is employed in caulking ships, 

 HtuMing riisliion-. and BMBng tinder. 



see fig. 3), one of the nolilest 

 palms' of India, yields sonic remarkable products. 

 ilesh ui tlie 'fruit, which resembles a plum in 

 tize and .structure, U very acrid, and corrodes ami 

 burns the lips ami month.' From the terminal bud 

 a swift watery liquor is obtiiineil, which, when 

 bailed, y\e\d jaggery. The terminal buJ is also 



Fig. 3. Caryota urens. 



eaten as a cabbage. From the pith of the stem 

 sago is obtained, which is made into bread, and 

 prepared in various other \\avs, and is a valu- 

 able article of food to the natives. The tree is 

 iiiimiil Kiltnl in Singhalese, and the fibre culled 

 Kitlul, obtained from its leaves, is most valuable 



e FlIIKnfs Si I:- I \'. 



The genus Calamus ami its immediate allies are 

 unaided as funning a com ..... ting link between the 

 palms and ti having the inllorescenee and 



tiuit of the former and in soi ..... 'ases the habit of 

 tin- latter. Certain spe< -ie- vi/. I '. H'isliiirijkii, C. 

 both of which are included in ('. rntmiif 



ie authors, ami f. rimum/ix and others 

 furnish the rattan-canes employed in making 

 rope* and cables, chair Ixittoius, couclies, has. 



mats. iVc. The walking slicks known as 

 Malacca canes are made from the stems of C. 



rim, a s|.. ies wliich .;row not in Mal- 

 acca, but ill Snmatia, and the canes are ehielly 

 ex|mrted fiom Siak ill that island. The stems of 

 ilielirent Kalian it', null ntiniH ) and others are of 



inns length, eMemling t<i IniiidreiU of feet, 

 elinging by hiKiks attArlinl to their leave* to 

 ibe tiunks and Ixiuylis of neigblKiuiing trees, or 

 nailing on the gioiind. They a ..... xtremely hnrd 

 \tenially. and usually smiHiib, with a dei. 

 CCOIU cnist on the surface. I', ilrum fuinisbes the 

 finest i|iiality of the re-inous substance known ILS 

 Dragon -|.v.) t although a similar substance 



inc. I frum \aiiousotlierplniils. In this case 

 it in exuded from the surface of the fruit, and is 

 nepamtcd from it by nibbing or shaking the fruit 

 together in a bag. An inferior i|iiality of the ^am.- 

 UWUucc U also obtained from the tree by incUion 



Fig. 4. Calamus adsjicrsug. 



of the Rtom, find by steaming the fruit after the 

 natural exudation lias liecn cullecteil. The species 

 areveiy nuiiieioiis. alMiul 2tK) having IK^'II ilesci ilieil, 

 but few are more singular than ( '. iii/xfirrxMs (si* 

 tig. 4), wliich resembles a cn-cping or twining 

 grow rather than 11 palm, the .stems p.-uely exceed- 

 ing in thickness stout wheat straw. Zulumi ri/iilis 

 is regularly cultivated by the Burmese for the sake 

 of ils pleasantly acidulous fruit, which grows to the 

 -i/e ol a walnut. 

 The succulent 

 scaly pulp wliich 

 encloses the seed 



U the edilile 



part. J!ii/i/dn 

 r i n ife ra, a 

 imtiviMifGiiinea, 

 yielils a rather 

 abundant sap, 

 from which a 

 strongly spirit- 

 nous wine is ob- 

 tained. One of 

 the most beauti- 

 ful and singular 

 of palms is /.'. 

 taxtigent, an in- 

 habit ant of the 

 banks of the 

 Amazon. The 

 trunk of the tree 

 is short, from 6 

 to 10 feet high, 

 but from the 

 R it m m i t the 

 leaves rise al- 

 most perpendicularly to the height of 40 feet or 

 more, arching gracefully outward towards the apex. 

 The footstalk of these enormous leaves alone are 

 often 12 or 15 feet Ion" by 4 or 5 inches in diameter. 

 The integument of these footstalks is thin, ex- 

 tremely hard and elastic, and light as a ijuill, and, 

 being easily split into straight strips, is made into 

 window-blinds, baskets, ixc. by the Indians. 



The true xnijn of commerce (see KAI:O) is derived 

 from various species of the genus Sagus, although 

 oilier species of palms, as lias already been staled, 

 and also plants widely dillerent botanically, such 

 ii-i-iilnlii. also yield a kind of sago. .V. 

 llniii/iliii, N. /"CM-, and >'. fm-iiiifi rii are the species 

 from which the largest quantity of true sa^n is 

 obtained. ,S'. Hiiin/iliii \-~ a native of the Indian 

 Archipelago, Malacca, Itorneo, Sumatra. Celebes. 

 and the Moluccas being the principal places in 

 whicli it is culthated. The tree is small, nirely 

 excelling .'{II feet in height of stem, which consists 

 of a hard shell about '2 inches thick enclosing a 

 mass of spongy pith the sago. This pith is 

 pradnally absorbed after the tree reaches malm 

 iiy, leaving the stem ijiiite hollow. The proper 

 time to fell the trees, before the pith begins to 

 diminish in bulk or fpiality by absorption, is indi 

 caled by the upper leaves becoming covered with 

 a sort of farina or white dust. \Vhcn felled the 



si is cut into lengths of 6 or 7 feet, which are 



split, the better to remove the pith. There are 

 \aiioii- modes of extracting the fecnla from the 

 insoluble substances with which it is combined in 

 the stem, but washing and straining are the prin- 

 cipal features of everv process. A single tree, it 

 is .!, |, i]| yield from' 5(HI to WKI Ib. of sago. -The 

 liar-he i Mniii-itiii ft' '-"""), a native of Cuiitim, 

 supplies the chief wants of the people wherever 

 it glows : the slems furnish timber for building 

 their dwellings, the leaves thatch for tlie same, 

 and material for mats, couches, hammocks, iVc. ; 

 the pith yields sago; the juice by fermentation 

 ' gives an excellent beverage ; the kernels of tl 



