THE PALM TREE. 



183 



species ; and that long elastic plaited cylinder, used 

 for squeezing dry the mandiocca pulp to make his 

 bread, is made of the bark of one of the singular 

 climbing palms, which alone can resist for a consider- 

 able time the action of the poisonous juice. In each 

 of these cases a species is selected better adapted 

 than the rest for the peculiar purpose to which it is 

 applied, and often having several different uses which 

 no other plant can serve as well ; so that some little 

 idea may be formed of how important to the South 

 American Indian must be 

 these noble trees, which 

 supply so many daily wants, 

 giving him his house, his 

 food, and his weapons." 



The Palms may be said 

 to be almost exclusively a 

 tropical production, a few 

 only being found either to 

 the north or to the south 

 of their limits. A beauti- 

 ful species, the "Palmetto," 

 grows in considerable 

 abundance in South Caro- 

 lina and Florida : this ap- 

 pears to be the only one 

 which exists so far north 

 on this continent. The whole number of species yet 

 known is about 600, of which 275 are natives of 

 America. 



The Palms present in their varied forms some of 

 12 



The Palmetto. 



