352 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXI. 



Economic uses. — The aboriginals of Australia are very fond of 

 the growing centre or heart of this tree, which they eat in a raw. or 

 cooked, state. Bnt Mneller says that the value of this esculent vcas ^ 

 not known to them in their uncivilized state. 



Leichhardt mentions in his ' Overland Expedition to Port 

 Essington ' that the tops of the palm eat well, either baked in hot 

 ashes or raw. Though very indigestible they do not prove injurious 

 to health when eaten in small quantities, but ' several of my 

 companions,' continues the same author, ' suffered by eating too 

 much of the Cabbage-palm.' 



The wood, or outer part of the stem is moderately hard and of a 

 light colour. It is occasionally used for walking sticks, slabs for 

 buildings, or the trunks are hollowed out for pig ti-oughs. The 

 central portion of the stem, when young and fresh, is said to l)e 

 eaten b}^ pigs. 



The leaves are used for baskets. The unexpanded fronds, 

 prepared hj being immersed in boiling water, are dried, and the 

 fibre thus obtained is much valued for the manufacture of hats, 

 which much resemble the celebrated Panama hats.^ 

 • Cultivation in Europe. — On the islands of Hj^eres in the 

 Mediterranean Sea (not far from Toulon) this palm may be seen 

 growing in the open, but suffers a good deal from the strong wind. 



It is one of the best known palms for room cultivation and for 

 the temperate house. It does not suffer from the dry air of the 

 room and is very little subject to the change of temperature. In 

 summer it may be kept in the open. In the hot house it attains a 

 considerable size within short time. 



The large rounded leaves are of a beautiful dark green with a 

 metallic lustre. The leaf stalks, when getting old, assume a 

 magnificent brownish red colour. The strong lateral spines of the 

 petiole are almost black and as hard as iron. 



Up to 1845 the only way of introducing palms from tropical 

 countries into the hot houses of Europe was by means of young 

 plants. This Avas not only troublesome and expensive but very 



^ Maiden, J. H. The useful Native Plants of Australia, London, 1889, p. 40, 

 563, 626. 



