THE CUBA REVIEW 



13 



A picturesque view of a lone royal palm in the open. 



are trimmed and tied to the framework of the house in a manner similar to that of shingles on the 

 roofs of houses. Xails are never used to fasten them but they are always tied to the rafters 

 with palm leaf strings. Semi-cylindrical portions of the leafstalks are formed into cradles 

 for negro children. They are also made into splints for fractures, and the inside skin when 

 peeled off while green and then dried looks like vellum and V)ears ink on one side. The Cuban 

 is using the leaf bases of this tree for almost countless other curious purposes, and the royal 

 ])alm is, therefore, probaljly the most useful native tree, to say nothing of its value for orna- 

 mental purposes. 



Although it does not bear fruit of much economic use nor afford much shade from the 

 ti'opical sun, everj' part of the tree is available for some use l)y the Cubans. Even the tender 

 yoimg shoots forming the terminal bud of the trees are utilized as a vegetable, tasting like the 

 most tender j'oung ca))bage. It is a mown-white substance called cabbage forming the most 

 singular use of this interesting palm. It is eaten raw, fried or boiled, and, when it has under- 

 gone boiling it is highly esteemed as an article of food. It is well known in the parts where the 

 tree grows that when this edible portion is removed the tree will die, which may be the growth 

 of more than fiftv vears. 



