158 THE PALMS OF AMERICA. 



thread to weave hammocks, baskets, nets, and 

 cloth. Before the tender spathe unfolds its 

 blossoms on the male palm, the soft portion of 

 the trunk is found to contain a sago-like meal, 

 which, like that of the jati-opha root, is dried 

 in thin bi'ead-like slices. The sap of the tree, 

 when fermented, constitutes the sv/eet inebriat- 

 ing palm wine of the Guaranes. The fruit is 

 narrow, and covered with reddish scales, so as 

 to resemble perfectly the fruit of the Calamus 

 rotang, or (to employ a comparison more fami- 

 liar to English eyes) nearly like fir cones. It 

 has somcwhatHhe taste of the apple. Like the 

 banana, and almost all tropical fruits, it yields 

 different articles of food, according to the period 

 at which it is gathered, Avhether its saccharine 

 properties are fully developed, or whether it is 

 still in a farinaceous condition. "When arrived 

 at maturity, it is red withoiit and 3-el!ow within. 

 The Arnguato monkeys eat it with avidity. 

 This palm, with its large, shining, fan-like 

 leaves, preserves a beautiful verdure at the 

 period of the greatest drought. The sight of it 

 alone produces an agreeable sensation of cool- 

 ness, and the rich aspect of the Moriche, loaded 

 with fruit, contrasts most singularly and jilon- 

 santly with the mournful appearance of the 

 palm of the Llanos, {Pulma de cohija,) Coti/pha 



