PALM 



Palm. Old, natural measure 

 of length, taken from iitl, 



> or the l.-ni'th of a man's 

 liui'l In I'm. mi ;i palm was 

 reckoned .nil. T ni throo or four 

 in I;., man measure it 

 equalled ii.. ,iit :< ins. The word 

 i in II. .Ihiicl as the e<|'n\ i 

 lent ol i -in- Xee Hand. * 



Palm Natural order 



-i. natives of tropical and 

 Mil. ti..|.ir.d regions. There are 

 aliutit 1,100 ktuiwn species di-tn 

 lulled in IL'S genera, many of them 

 familiar from tlirir economic ira- 

 p..rt. in.-,- -^icli a* coconut (Co- 

 cdv n IK' i fern), oil-palm (Kln--u gui- 

 neen<<ii.i), date (1'hoenix <l>i<t>/- 

 lifera), bete! (Anrn catechu), 

 'Im ( /.''//i/i/'i fiitifrru), <(-.. 

 all of which are described under 

 their names. There is only one 

 European .-)>'. -les (Chamaerop* tni- 

 niilix). which is found in the Medi- 

 terranean iv.'ion. In a few cases, 

 such a-* nipa and vegetable ivory 

 (I'liyti-lepluu), the stem is dwarfed 

 and the leaves radical, but, as a 

 rule, it is tall (up to 150 ft.), un- 

 branched, and terminates above 

 in a crown of very large fan-shaped 

 or feather-shaped leaves. These are 

 attached to the stem by a firm 

 sheat h, which remains after the leaf 

 is dead, and gives the characteristic 

 ruggedness to the stem. 



The flowers are produced in a 

 great branching cluster, usually 

 from the axils of the leaves. In 

 some species male and female 

 flowers are produced by the same 

 tree, in others the sexes are in 

 separate trees. The fruits are either 

 berries, plum-like (drupes), or, as in 

 the coconut, invested with a hard 

 woody shell covered with a very 

 thick fibrous husk. Coconuts and 

 dates are of great importance as 

 food, and large quantities of 

 sugary fluid or starch are furnished 

 by the stems of some species. The 

 leaves are utilised for thatching, 

 basket-making, mats, and hats, and 

 the fibres of the leaf-sheaths are of 

 considerable economic importance. 

 A number of species are in culti- 

 vation in greenhouses as orna- 

 mental foliage plants, mostly in 

 a juvenile condition. See Assai ; 

 Australian Feather Palm ; Bactris ; 

 Coconut Palm ; Date ; Deleb Palm ; 

 Doom Palm; Fan Palm; Miriti 

 Palm; Oil Palm ; Raphia ; Rat- 

 tan; Toddy Palm; Wax Palm, etc. 

 Palma. Town of Spain. Capital 

 of the prov. of Baleares (Balearic 

 Isles), it is a seaport on ti 

 coast of Majorca, 135 m. from Bar- 

 celona. Built in an amphitheatre 

 overlooking the bay of tin 

 name, with orange groves outside 

 the walls, the houses are in tin- 

 Moorish style. The Gothic cathe- 

 dral dates from 1232-1001 ; the ex- 



_ P043 _ 



change and the governor's palace 



are interesting bin 



ture include silk*, woollen*, 



liqueur*, chocolate. It in the port 



f "i i he island and traded Mpecially in 



fruit and vegetable*. Pop. 68,000. 

 Palma OR HAM MIGUEL DB 



PALMA. Most westerly of t IK- 

 S' Inlands. 



Lying 67 m. ' 



WN.W.fron. T. ..- 



critic, it is 'jr. m. 



long by hi m 



wide, and has an 



area of 280 sq. m. 



The mountainous 



interior culmin- 



ates in th. 



de la Cruz, 7,740 



ft., and contains 



the extinct vol- 



cano, LA Caldera, 



with a crater 



5,000 ft. dee p. 



Wines, fruits, 



honey, and silk 



are produced in 



the fertile wooded valleys. The 



capital is Santa Cruz, on the E. 



coast. Pop. 42,000. 



Palma di Montechiaro. Town 



of Italy, in Girgentiprov., Sicily. It 



is a small modern town noted for 



the quality of its almonds, and is 



reached by steamboat from Licata 



or Porto Empedocle. Pop. 14,000. 

 Palma Vecchio (c. 1480-1528). 



Name by which Giacomo Negretti 



or Palma, Italian painter, is gener- 

 ally known. 

 Born near Ber- 

 gamo, he pro- 

 bably studied 

 under Cima at 

 Venice, where 

 he continued 

 to work, and 

 where he died, 

 July 28, 1528. 

 Strongly in- 

 fluenoed bv 



\ 



Titian and 



PALMER 



ne, his classic composition 

 :in.| < haracterutic colouring make 

 rk easily recognizable, espe- 

 cially hi* Holy Conversation pic 

 lures. Examples of bis work are 

 best wen m V- nice, Dresden, and 

 II. i- . ill. '1 Vecchio (old) 

 h him from his grand- 



Palma Vecchio. 

 Italian painter 



Stlf-porlrmit in Pina 



Palm Beach, Florida. The winter resort from across 



the harbour ; in the foreground is the beautiful private 



residence known as White Hall 



nephew Jacopo Palma (1544- 

 1628). See Barbara, S. 



Palm Beach. Winter resort of 

 Florida, U.S.A., in Palm Beach co. 

 It stands on a narrow strip of land 

 30 m. long, separating Lake Worth 

 from the Atlantic, and is 300 m. by 

 rly. S.E. of Jacksonville. It has 

 splendid facilities for boating and 

 bathing. Pop. 1,250. 



Palmer. Name given to any 

 Christian who had made a pilgrim- 

 age to the Holy Land. He brought 

 back a consecrated palm staff or 

 branch as evidence of his journey 

 The modern surname Palmer is 

 probably a survival. See Pilgrim. 



Palmer, SIR CHARLES MARK 

 (1822-1907). British shipbuilder. 

 Born at South Shields, Nov. 3, 

 1822, he joined a shipping firm in 

 Newcastle. Later, in 1850 he 

 built the first iron screw collier to 

 develop the coal trade with London, 

 and then added others. In the 





Majorca. The town 



the Terreno suburb 



