INTRODUCED PLANTS AND ANIMALS. ZS.'^ 



in a loud cracking sound ;is though a whirlwind li<hi hnikcii loose anions llie 

 tree tops. Then followed a swirl and a swish, a rustle, ;iiid a i-iisli that seemed 

 to leave no doubt but that all the trees in the garden had been siiddcidy set 

 whirling through the air. But after a moment of breathless suspense the whole 

 affair ended in a terrific clatter and thump, after which all was again as silent 

 as before. In the morning when the leaf was shown to me there remained no 

 doubt but that it was the cause of the "cyclone" of the night before. The leaf 

 was a trifle over eighteen feet in length and weighed several pounds ! Though 

 accustomed to regard a falling leaf as an exceedingly melancholy thing, I had 

 never before thought of the harm that might be received in tlic ti-opics a least, 

 from so simple and ordinary a thing as having a withered leaf strike one un- 

 aw^ares as it circled gracefully to the ground. 



The Cocoanut Palm. 



The cocoanut palm- is perhaps native, or at least of very early introduc- 

 tion by the natives, and is among the most showy of the palms. It is the cocoa luit 

 palm by the sea that first greets the stranger on his arrival in Hawaii. Basking 

 in the languid warm sunshine it has stood for generations at the post of honor by 

 the broad portal of this earthly paradise. Breathing the very spirit of the 

 tropics it has come to be the symbol of true hospitality and stands ever ready to 

 east that magical spell that none can resist. At the parting it is this stately 

 sentinel by the water's edge that is always the last living thing to reluctantly 

 wave a fond good-bye to those who must depart, knowing in their heart of hearts 

 they are to return again. 



Its feathery plumes tower out above everything else, as they are often si.xty 

 feet or more in height. All things considered there are indeed few^ trees among 

 the wild, semi-cultivated or exotic flora in Hawaii that equals in picturesque 

 beauty this "the prince of palms." 



Few trees so frequently and effectively figure in the domestic setting for 

 the Honolulu home. They are of fairly rapid growth and come into bearing, 

 in favorable soil, in ten or fifteen years. The tree continues to grow in 

 height until thirty or forty years of age, when they seem to have attained their 

 limit of growth, but they continue to live on indefinitely without gaining ma- 

 terially in size or height. On the beach at Waikiki are trees that arc known 

 to be several hundred years old, while a splendid grove neai- l)y has very nearl\- 

 caught u}) with them in heiglit in a single life time. This i)alin will never branch 

 and never sends up shoots from the gronnd. and like many oilier trees in the 

 tropics that belong to a great group known as Kndogenous plants, they are easily 

 killed by destroying the plume-like top. 



The cocoanut trees thrive best at or near the sea-shore. Howevei-. tlie\- do 

 reasonal)ly well in some localities two or three miles inland. Klevation app.-sr- 

 ently has more influence in retarding growth than the absence of the effect of tlie 

 sea. Where water is to be had in al)undance any soil seems to do so long as it is 



- Coros It ticifirn. 



16 



