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This palm is one of the stateliest among a family of stately mem- 
bers. Its trunk attains a height sometimes of 100 feet and its 
leaves a length of 15 to 20 feet. Economically it is probably the 
most valuable of all the palms, for in addition to its production 
of a fruit which is used the world over, it furnishes many other 
things of great value. Its wood is employed in building purposes 
and for the manufacture of furniture; from its leaves are made 
thatching for huts, baskets, screens, and many other articles ; and 
the heart, consisting of the young leaves, forms an excellent vege- 
table. At the base of the petioles is a network-like tissue which at 
maturity becomes coarse and tough and of abrown color. One of 
its many uses is to act asa sieve for straining liquids. But itis from 
the fruit, which is freely produced, that most is derived. A tree 
will yield several bunches in a year, each bunch maturing a dozen 
or more fruit. As an article of food this is used by the natives 
mostly when young and immature, but from the mature fruit is ex- 
tracted an oil. From the shells of the nut are manufactured cups 
and other household utensils, From the flowers is obtained a 
powerful astringent which is much used in medicine in Ceylon. 
Toddy or palm-wine is procured from the inflorescence, and from 
this, by fermentation which takes place within a few hours, ‘is 
produced a yeast used in making bread. Vinegar and arrack, a 
kind of gin, are also procured from this sap, as well as a kind of 
coarse brown sugar by boiling. The fibrous rind or husk of the 
cocoanut is manufactured into matting, hats, ropes, etc. Before 
leaving Cocos, attention must be called to the plant of Cocos aus- 
tralis, a native of Paraguay and one of the most graceful of the 
lot. The drooping leaves and segments of a gray-green hue 
will at once distinguish it from all the others in the collection. 
Here also will be found a small plant of Calamus ciliaris, from 
Malaya. This is one of the climbing palms, referred to earlier, 
and the long slender spiny organs used by it in climbing will be 
noted ; by means of these the plant pulls itself up by laying hold 
of surrounding objects, for these organs are provided with down- 
wardly turned spines, well adapting them to this clinging process. 
Adjoining the cocoanuts are specimens of the royal palm, 
Roystonea regia, and the West Indian cabbage palm, X. oleracea, 
