THE LURE OF THE PINEY WOODS 177 



maining well below the surface. It sends up 

 flower stems which under favorable circumstances 

 reach a height of four or five feet. 



In other words, this strange plant begins life as 

 an ordinary palm, just as though it were going to 

 become a tree, but at an early stage of growth the 

 elongating trunk turns and grows the wrong way; 

 it actually backs down into the earth until it some- 

 times reaches a depth of sixteen inches, and only 

 sending up its leaves and flower stems above the 

 ground. Ordinarily the growing point is eight 

 inches to a foot below the surface. In grubbing 

 new land this big stem, filled with starchy matter, 

 is not reached at all with the grub hoe. The 

 leaves are cut but new ones constantly spring up, 

 and in order to kill the persistent plant an iron rod 

 must be thrust down into the growing bud and a 

 little kerosene poured in. If fire is kept out of 

 the pine woods for several years these same palms, 

 with confidence inspired, begin to grow into trees. 

 This is especially true where they are left standing 

 in cultivated ground. In such cases they soon 

 form a strong, erect trunk and develop into the 

 ordinary cabbage palmettos ! 



This strange habit of growth is but a device to 



