' THE PALMS OF BRITISH INDIA AND CEYLON. 76 



in this country (Natal), and there is much excitement in travelling- 

 over it, but it is altogether of a different character ; a sava^^e 

 sternness or monotonous sameness marks the two principal divi- 

 sions of it, and the really beautiful spots look small by comparison 

 with the vast extent spread aroimd of another character." 



On the Seychelles " the tree grows on all kinds of soil, from the 

 sandy shore to the arid mountain-top, but the finest are found in 

 deep gorges, on damp platforms, covered with vegetable soil ; in 

 such situations, the great height and slender diameter of the trunk, 

 and the length of its enormous leaves, produce a fine effect, though 

 near the seashore, its leaves, torn by the storms and hanging in 

 long strips, give it a desolate appearance. It is to be regretted 

 that the tree is not cultivated, and that a practice has prevailed 

 of cutting it down in order to get at the fruit and tender leaves. In 

 fact, it is feared that the species will be, ere long, entirely lost." ^ 



This danger of complete destruction of the once famous palm 

 has been removed in the meantime. Owing to the suggestion of 

 John Home, then Director of the Botanic Gardens of Mauritius, 

 the Lodoiceas are, since 1875, under the protection of Government.^ 



It is a striking fact that the seeds, although capable of a wide 

 oceanic dispersal which must have continued over a long period of 

 time, in no case established themselves spontaneously in any new 

 territory. This forms a strange contrast with the ordinary coco- 

 nut, which probably originally a native of South America, is now 

 widely distributed throughout the tropics. (W. T. Thiselton-Dyer.) 



CULTIVATION.^ 



Illustrations. — Plate XL shows a young Double Cocoanut Palm 

 in the Botanic Gardens of Peradeniya. We called it "young ", but 

 as a matter of fact, it must be about 40 3^ears old. Cave figiires the 

 same specimen in his "Book of Ceylon " (PL 376^ and the palm has 

 about the same size as the one reproduced in our plate. He took it 

 in 18R2, "when it was already 40 j^ears old and had not begun to 

 form its stem," The strong stout leaf-stalks are very remarkable. 



The following photographs of the Double Cocoanut Palm (except 

 PI. XLII which was supplied by Mr. Macmillan) were kindly 

 presented by Mr. Nigel Kerr. 



Plate XLI. — A comparatively young palm growing in the jungle 

 of Praslin Island. The age is between 50 and 60 years. It will 

 be noted that the leaves are not very numerous. 



^ Seemann, 1. c, p. 245. 



- Rothe, K. C, Palmen-Studien. Wien. 1910, p. 34. 



Cf. etiam : Ward, Swinburne. On the preservation of the Coco-de-mer. 



Joum. Linn. Soc. IX (1867), p. 119-120, 259-261. Page 119-120 contains 



an answer to a letter of Sir H. Barkly relative to the preservation of the 



Coco-de-mer. Barkly's letter is printed on p. 118-119 of the same volume. 



' The paragraphs on Cultivation and Fig. 29 have been omitted by mistake 



but will appear in the next Number. — [Eds. ] 



