THE PALM TRIBES 



a:^d their yaeieties. 



CHAPTER I. 



INTUODUCTION — THE PHYSIOGNOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY 

 OF THE PALMS. 



« 



Among the many -wonders which strike the 

 mind of the student of nature, and ■\vhicli most 

 convincingly tell of the wisdom and beneficence 

 of an omnipotent and omnipresent Creator, a 

 very prominent one is the vast variety observ- 

 able in the productions and operations of the 

 natural world. In the vegetable kingdom, for 

 example, which clothes the earth with a carpet 

 of rich verdure, and which ministers so exten- 

 sively to our necessities and luxuries, it might 

 seem at first sight that a few species compara- 

 tively would afford all that was really needed 

 for the sup])ly of the wants of man and beast. 

 And yet we find that botanists have described 



