OF THE PALMS. 7 



that even the uninitiated would at sight assign 

 them a connected standing. Such truly na- 

 tural assemblages are the grasses, the heaths, 

 the mosses, the ferns, the composite, umbellife- 

 rous and cruciform plants, the palms, and some 

 others. We propose to take one of these fami- 

 lies, THE PALMS, and to illustrate it in a popular 

 manner by tracing their structure, characters, 

 and uses. 



The race of plants to which the name of 

 " palms" has been assigned, is a tropical tribe, 

 confined exclusively to the Avarmer portions 

 of our globe. Though usually ..attaining the 

 bulk of trees, and sometimes even of gigantic 

 dimensions, they are totally unlike in appear- 

 ance to those vegetable forms which usually 

 greet our eyes, and are therefore unfamiliar in 

 aspect to the dwellers in temperate climes ; and 

 yet their stately forms can scarcely be called 

 strange, since they are presented as a constant 

 accompaniment of almost every pictured oriental 

 landscape. The tribe of palms is, also, one of 

 the most interesting in the whole vegetable 

 world, if we consider the majestic appearance 

 of their towering stems, croAvned by a still 

 more gigantic foliage — the character of grandeur 

 they impress upon the scenery of the countries 

 they inhabit — and their immense value to 



