The Palm and its Varieties. 57 



The fruit is abundant, globose, and about an inch and a half in 

 diameter. As soon as it has ripened the tree decays, and in two 

 or three weeks lies rotten on the ground. 



Vegetable ivory, now manufactured in o many ornamental 

 articles, is the hardened albumen of the Corosso (Phytolephas 

 macrocarpa). It is clear and liquid at first, then milky and sweet, 

 and finally solid. The stem of the tree which produces the 

 corosso nuts is so dwarfed that they lie in clusters upon the 

 ground, while its enormous tufts of pinnated leaves attain the 

 height of twenty feet. The corosso is a native of the sheltered 

 and romantic valleys which nestle among the Peruvian Andes. 



Wax is obtained from several species of the Palmaceae, as from 

 the Ceroxylon, or Wax palm, discovered by Humboldt in South 

 America, which grows to a height of 180 feet, and the Camanba 

 (Corypha cerifera), whose fan-like leaves are coated with a yellow 

 wax. 



From the Calamus verus we obtain the well-known canes called 

 ratans ; and the Sago palm (Sagus farinifera), which flourishes in 

 the swampy districts of the East, supplies us with a farinaceous 

 food of great value. The Corypha Australia, a native of Victoria, 

 Australia, yields a profusion of fan- shaped leaves, which are em- 

 ployed in the manufacture of straw hats. This noble tree attains 

 the stature of 140 feet. 



The palm oil largely used in the manufacture of soap and candles, 

 and in the preparation of the peculiar compound with which the 

 wheels of railway carriages are greased, is expressed from the 

 nuts of the Elais palm, a native of Guinea. The Areca, or 

 Catechu palm, yields the celebrated betel nuts, so largely masti- 

 cated by the Hindoos. From these nuts our chemists obtain an 

 astringent decoction, useful in dyspepsia, and many other diseases. 



What would become of the wanderer in the deserts of Arabia 

 and Barbary, if Providence suddenly decreed the extinction of 

 the Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) ? Thousands of human 

 beings would inevitably perish, for the inhabitants of Fezzan live 

 wholly upon its saccharine and delicious fruit for nine months in 

 the year. In Egypt, Arabia, and Persia, it forms the principal 

 food of the people, and a man's wealth is computed by the num- 

 ber of date palms he possesses. When dried, the fruit becomes 

 an important commercial staple Cakes of dates pounded and 

 kneaded, until solid enough to be cut with a hatchet, supply the 

 provision of the African caravans on their toilsome journey 

 through the sun-lighted Sahara. The young leaves, or palm 

 cabbage, are eaten by the Persians and Arabs, who also distil a 

 species of wine from the sap, by fermentation. A single palm will 

 yield three or four quarts daily for a fortnight, after which the 

 quantity diminishes, and the tree gradually dries up. The date 

 stones f r seeds are roasted as a substitute for coffee, or ground 

 for the sake of their oil, and the residuum given as food to cattle. 



