130 THE PALM TREE. 



them, however, it is neither seed nor root, but is the 

 wood itself, the pithy centre of the stem, requiring 

 scarcely any preparation to fit it for food ; and it is 

 so abundant that a single tree often yields six hun- 

 dred pounds weight. 



"The canes used for chair -bottoms and various 

 other purposes, are the stems of a species of calamus, 

 slender palms which abound in the East Indian 

 jungles, climbing over other trees and bushes by the 

 help of the long-hooked spines with which their 

 leaves are armed. They sometimes reach the enor- 

 mous length of 600 or even 1000 feet, and as 

 4,000,000 of them are imported into this country 

 (England) annually, a great number of persons must 

 find employment in cutting them. 



" Among the most singular products of palm trees 

 are the resins and wax produced by some species. 

 The fruits of a species of calamus of the Eastern 

 Archipelago are covered with a resinous substance 

 of a red color, which in common with a similar pro- 

 duct from some other trees, is the Dragon's blood of 

 commerce, and is used as a pigment, for varnish, and 

 in the manufacture of tooth-powder. A lofty palm, 

 growing in the Andes of Bogotd, produces a resinous 

 wax which is secreted in its stem, and used by the 

 inhabitants of the country for making candles, and 

 for other purposes. 



" The leaves of palms, however, are applied to the 

 greatest variety of uses ; thatch for houses, umbrellas, 

 hats, baskets, and cordage in countless varieties are 

 made from them, and every tropical country possesses 



