TROPICAL FRUIT TREES. 751 



TROPICAL FRUIT TREES. 



BY BERTHA F. HERRICK. 



A LTHOUGH the fruits of the tropics seldom ripen in temper- 

 -jL ate climates, the trees are often cultivated merely for the 

 beauty of their foliage ; so that it may prove of interest to become 

 further acquainted with their general appearance and uses in 

 their far-off native habitats. 



The beautiful date palm is indigenous to Africa and Asia, 

 though nourishing in all hot countries. There are said to be 

 nearly a thousand species, the most vigorous specimens reaching 

 the height of eighty feet and living for two hundred years. Each 

 tree yields from one hundred and sixty to two hundred pounds of 

 fruit in a single season, some of the clusters weighing nearly forty 

 pounds. It is propagated by suckers from the root, whence its 

 name of "Phoenix," and bears its first crop when about eight 

 years of age. 



No less than three hundred and sixty uses are claimed for this 

 invaluable tree. The trunk furnishes timber for furniture and 

 house-building as well as fuel, cooking utensils, and bows and 

 arrows ; the roots are utilized for fencing and roofing, and the 

 fiber is woven into mats, fishnets, ropes, baskets, and articles of 

 clothing. Among the natives of the Orient the nutritious fruit is 

 the principal food for nearly the entire year, and, pounded into 

 solid cakes, is carried by Arabs journeying over the scorching 

 desert, the stones being used as fodder for the camels. Roasted 

 and ground, the kernels make a fair substitute for coffee, and are 

 also valued 011 account of their oil. 



These trees are sometimes known as the " palms of victory," 

 as the large, frondlike leaves are supposed to be identical with 

 those that were strewn before the Saviour on his entry into Jerusa- 

 lem, and that were borne with songs of rejoicing before ancient 

 conquerors returning from their triumphs on the battlefield ; 

 while on Palm Sunday and at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles 

 they are highly prized as church decorations. In some varieties 

 the flower- spathes yield a large quantity of sweet sap, which 

 upon evaporation becomes " date sugar," this being fermented 

 into an intoxicant called " arrack." The terminal bud or " cab- 

 bage " is considered a great delicacy, and is boiled and eaten like a 

 vegetable. 



Another well-known fruit tree of the tropics is the graceful 

 Musa, or banana, a relative of the plantain. The rapidly growing 

 suckers are productive at any season of the year, in a period of 

 from nine to eighteen months, according to the altitude, the tree 

 dying after ripening several bunches, some of which weigh nearly 



