12 A. E. Verrill—The Bermuda Islands. _ 494 
The early settlers depended very largely upon this tree for food, 
drink, and shelter. Its leaves were used for thatching most of the 
houses for at least 60 years; its berries were eaten as fruit; its soft 
growing top was boiled for a vegetable, like cabbage ; and its juice 
and pulp were used to make a fermented intoxicating drink called 
“bibey ” or bibie. 
Several foreign palms, including the Date Palm, Cocoanut Palm, 
and the Royal Palm, are cultivated for ornament, but seldom ripen 
their fruit. Five tall, straight Royal Palms, standing in a row by 
the roadside, near Hamilton, and close to the harbor, west of the 
town, are famous for their graceful forms. (Figure 5, and plate xvi, 
Figure 5.—The Royal Palms near Hamilton. 
fig. 2.) The Pride-of-India is one of the most common shade trees. 
It puts out a profusion of clusters of pink flowers, like small pea- 
blossoms, in early spring, before the leaves appear. (Fig. 17.) 
Both eastward and westward from Hamilton there are three main 
highways, running lengthwise of the Main Island, which is about 14 
miles long, but less than 2 miles wide, in most places. One road is 
near the middle line of the island ; another, which runs along near 
the northern shore, is called the north road; one, which runs near 
the south side, is called the south road. These highways generally 
have very excellent road-beds, with easy grades and a hard, dry sur- 
face, composed of the native crushed, soft limestone, which is well 
