THE PALMS OF ASIA. 113 



thirty-seven for a penny. The resident European 

 merchants always dispose of them by weight, 

 the price being from 1^ to 2^ dollars per picul. 

 Nearly four millions of these canes were im- 

 ported into this country in 1832. They are 

 extensively used for the sake of the hard flinty 

 coating of their stems, which are readily split 

 into strips, from which the bottoms of chairs 

 and similar articles i^re manufoctured. It is 

 impossible to say from what particular species 

 the canes of the shops are obtained, it being 

 probable that many are gathered indiscrimi- 

 nately. Calamris rotang has, however, been 

 said to furnish the stoutest, and Calamus scipi- 

 onnm the slenderer sorts. The forests of Borneo 

 and Sumatra, and of some parts of Celebes, 

 furnish the most abundant supply. Limpid 

 water flows from the stems when cut through ; 

 and the young shoots of some species, while 

 still tender, are roasted or boiled, chopped 

 small, and being fried with pepper and gravy, 

 arc said to furnish a very delicate dish. 



It is not a little remarhable that, notwith- 

 standing the polished surface of the stem, 

 almost all the other parts, except the fruit, 

 should be furnished with stiff hairs, and even 

 prickles. Tlie prickles arc hooked backwards, 

 to enable the plants to raise themselves upon 



