PALM 



723 



fruit are ground into meal and made into bread ; 

 sind the fibre is converted into cordage and cloth- 

 ing. The Palmyra Palm ( liorassus Jtabeliiformis) 

 is one of the most common of its tril>e in India. 

 In some parts of the country it grows spontane- 

 ously, and it is found as far north as 30 ; in others 

 it is the subject of careful cultivation. It furnishes 

 the greater part of the palm-wine of India, which 

 by the natives and Famuls is called Callu and 

 Noonijpon, ami by Europeans Toddy. The fruit is 

 about the size of a child's head, somewhat tri- 

 angular, and within a thick, fibrous rind contains 

 three seeds about the size of a goose's egg. The 

 si'uds when young are eaten by the natives, being 

 jelly-like ami palatable. The toddy is obtained 

 by wounding the snathe before the inflorescence 

 expands. After a few days a clear, sweet liquor 

 exudes from the wound, and is carefully collected 

 in pots suspended under the wounded spathe. A 

 tree yields about three quarts daily. The liquor is 

 drunlv fresli, and will only keep sweet forabout three 

 days, when it undergoes fermentation and becomes 

 sour, and is distilled into arrack. Jaggery is also 

 made from the juice. The young plants when 

 a few inches high are cooked and eaten as a 

 vegetable. The leaves, which are fan-shaped and 

 large, are turned to the various uses alluded to in 

 connection with species already described, and in 

 India they are almost universally used for writing 

 ii|inii with an iron stylus. 



The Double Cocoa-nut, or Sea Cocoa-nut as it 

 has been, called, is Lotloicea seychellanim. The 

 nuts of this tree are seen occasionally in museums 

 a:id in the cahineto of collectors of curios, often 

 b'-aiitifiilly polished and carved by native workmen, 

 and formed into caskets and other ornaments. For 

 long their origin was shrouded in mystery. They 

 w>;re frequently found tloating about in the ocean 

 before the discovery of the tree, and an absurd 

 belief was entertained by Malay and Chinese sailors 

 that they were the fruit of some marine tree. The 

 tree, a native of the Seychelle Islands, is very 

 elegant, attaining a height of from 50 to 80 feet, 

 witn leaves 20 feet long supported on stalks of equal 

 length. The fruit is one of the largest produced 

 by any of the palms, being a foot or a foot and 

 half in length. The kernel near the base is divided 

 into^two parts hence the name Double Cocoa-nut 

 and while young part of the fleshy substance in 

 which it U enclosed is edible. The chief products 

 of the tree are timber and libre for cordage, and 

 a downy kind of fibre which envelops the young 

 leaves is used for filling mattresses and pillows. 



The Talipat Palm of Ceylon (Cory/>/ta umbra- 

 culifera) is notable only for the variety of uses to 

 which its leaves are put in Ceylon and other parts 

 of India to which it is indigenous. The leaves are 

 of immense size, and, being palmate with the leaf- 

 stalk attached near the middle, they are readily 

 formed into umbrellas and tents ; the cane-like 

 rilis being removed and the blades neatly ditched 

 together, they may be folded up with great facility. 

 They are also very much used for the books or 

 cold/is of the inhabitants. Many of these alleged 

 to be made of Egyptian papyrus are formed of the 

 leaves of this palm. The tree grows to the height 

 of 100 feet, and has a very grand and imposing 

 appearance. A closely allied species (C. taliera) 

 is the Talipat Palm of the Indian peninsula. It 

 grows to about the same height as the preceding 

 species, with leaves of a more durable kind for the 

 purposes of thatch, but not so adaptable to more 

 delicate and artistic uses. Licnala peltata is the 

 Chittah-pat of Assam, the leaves of which are 

 extensively used for making umbrellas, punkahs, 

 anil hats. The stems of L. acntifolia are made 

 into walking-sticks, named by Europeans Penanr/ 

 Laiaycri. Copernicia cerifera, a native of northern 



Brazil, produces an edible fruit ; and from the leaves, 

 after they have been removed from the trees and 

 dried, is obtained an inferior kind of vegetable wax, 

 which is used in candle-making and to adulterate 

 beeswax. 



Of the American Palmetto Palm, a native of the 

 Carolinas and Florida, the most important species 

 is the Cabbage Palmetto (Sabal jialmetto), which 

 sometimes grows to 50 feet in height and 15 inches 

 in diameter, with leaves 5 feet Ion" and broad. It 

 is found also in the Bermudas. Its products are 

 timber and the leaves, the former being exceed- 

 ingly durable, very porous (see MouLTRlE), and 

 especially valuable for wharf-building, as it resists 

 water and is not attacked by the teredo. The 

 fruit is not edible. The Palmetto of Europe is 

 Chuma-rops humilis, which inhabits the countries 

 on both shores of the Mediterranean, occupying 

 great tracts. It rarely reaches 10 feet in height, 

 and usually is much less, its growth being ex- 

 ceedingly slow. The leaves are fan-shaped and 

 abound in excellent fibre, with which the Arabs, 

 combining it with camels' hair, make tent-covers; 

 in Spain it is made into ropes and sailcloth, and 

 in France into carpets, named African haircloth. 

 The French in Algeria make paper and pasteboard 

 of it, and so well adapted is it to this purpose 

 that its use might be more extended in other 

 countries. The fruit is edible, and is eaten by 

 the Arabs and the inhabitants of Sicily and 

 Southern Italy. The plant endures the climate 

 of London, but scarcely grows. C. Ititchieana, a 

 native of Sind and Afghanistan, and C. excelsa, a 

 native of China and Japan, both produce excellent 

 fibre. The leaves of 'Ihrinax rtryentea supply the 

 material called chip, of which ladies' hats and 

 bonnets of that name are made. The trunks of 

 T. jiarviflora, a native of Jamaica, though of 

 slender diameter, are said to be very suitable for 



Fig. 5. Sabal (Trithrinax) mauritiseformis. 



piles and marine buildings subject to immersion, 

 as they are impervious to the influence of water, 

 and are not attacked by borers or worms. Sabal 

 ( Trithrinax ) mauriticeformis, a native of New 

 Granada (fig. 5), is a low-growing but very hand- 

 some palm, not remarkable for any products of 

 pedal utility. 



The Piritu of Venezuela, the Paripou of Guiana, 

 and the Papunlm of the Amazon are the local 

 names of one species of palm Gidielma apennsa. 

 It produces fruits somewhat triangular in shape, 

 about the size of an apricot, and bright reddish 

 yellow in colour. They have a peculiar oily flavour, 

 and are eaten boiled or roasted, when they resemble 

 chestnuts. They are also ground into meal, which 



