820 XXIII. PALM^. 



and all the species of At.talea. A. sort of cabbage is also obtained from duimarops humilis. Elaei^ 

 ffuineensii, a large moaoecious Palm of West Africa, which is cultivated in America, be.ars a drupe, thei 

 sarcooarp of which contains a yellow scented oil, called Palm Oil, used in Afiica and Guiana as olive oil; 

 the kernel also yields n white solid oil, used as better : this latter, much less abundant than the other, is 

 not imported into Europe ; but the first, which always remains liquid in the tropics, is imported into 

 France and England, where it arrives congealed, and is used in making soap [and candles]. Cero.vylon 

 andicola, a magnificent species growing in Peru, and Coiypha eenfera, named in Brazil Cm-naiiba, produce 

 a true wax, which exudes from the leaves, and especiallyfrom the trunk, at the rings. The Double Cocoa- 

 nut {Lodoieea sechellarum) is a very tall tree [confined to the Seychelles Islands], the enormous 2-lobed 

 fruit of which was formerly in great repute as a universal antidote ; it is now only an object of curiosity. 



Areca Catechu, -a lurgn Palm of India, Ceylon and the Moluccas, produces -the Areca-nut, from the 

 steed of which is prepared a much esteemed astringent juice, which is chewed, mixed with quicklime and 

 the leaves of Betel Pepper, by the inhabitants of tropical Asia. (see p. 731). 



From the leaves of all Palms are made more or less coarse hats, for which the young leaves are used, 

 being carefully cut before they unfold, and while still whitish and supple ; the leaves of Coiypha are preferred 

 for this purpose. The fibrous husk of the Cocoa-nut is used for making- cords ; and the other parts of 

 several Palms also yield fibres with which cordage is manufactured. The Pia§aba^ is the most important 

 iov ships' cables, as it does not decay in water ; mattresses, brushes and brooms are also made of it. The 

 species which produce the Pia,faba:are Leopoldinia Piaqaba aiid Aitalea funifera. In Brazil they obtain 

 from the leaves of several species of Bactris, especially JB. setosa, a textile matter named tecun, finer and 

 more tenacious than hemp, of which fine hamrnocks and flshing-nefs are made. M. Marius Porte, in" a 

 iotice of the uses of some Palms, tells us that this thread is not used for garments, on account of -a sort 

 of rasping property, which causes it to cut like a file or sandpaper, excoiiatiiig the skin, and if worn with 

 other clothes quickly rubbing them to pieces. ' With a thread of. tecun and patience, says M. Poitte, a 

 bar of iron may be cut» ■. ■; 



The Rattans (^Calamus), or Cane Palms, have a very slender stem, scarcely as thick as the thumb'; 

 this stem, in Some species, climbs up trees, sometimes attaining a length of' 12,000 to 18^000 feet '^ (Rumi- 

 jphia, vol. ii. p. 158). The flexible stems are sent to Europe^ where they aresused for various light and 

 solid articles, trellised furniture, switches, canes (known as Dutch canes), &c. The fruit of Calamus Dtxtce 

 is impregnated with a red astringent resin named Dragon's Blood, much more used by druggists -than the 

 Dragon's Blood of tlie Pterocarpus or the Draceena. ' The roots of Sabal PMfmetto are very rich in tannin. ' 



The sap of Corypha umbracuUfera and «/Zwesfo-js, Asiatic species,^^i3 an emetic, and considered an 

 alexipharmic. Syphane eudfera, an Egyptian Palm, remarkable for the dichotomy of its'Steitf, yields a 

 gum-resin (Egyptian bdellium), formerly, classed among diuretics, and the saroocarp of its fruit tastes like 

 gingerbread. . ■ ' ' 



This elegant family forms the principal ornament of our southern gardens, and with '<;are 

 soiue species may even be grown in the climate of Paris. The Dwarf or Fan Palm (Chatruerops 

 humilis), mentioned above, is a small polygamous tree, stemless or cau^lescent, abundantly, spread over 

 Sicily, Italy, Spain, and Algeria, and which lives in the open air in south-eastern France. The Chusan 

 Palm (Trachycaipus or Charruerops exceka), a dioecious tree a foot to 18 inches high, is less pictui'esqiie, 

 but hardier than the preceding ; its trunk is furnished with a sort of tow or hair, resulting fromithe de- 

 composed bases of the petioles ; this tow, used by the Chinese in the manufacture of cordage and of coarse 

 stuffs, forms a natural clothing to this Palm-tree, and protects it so much from the cold as to enable it to 

 stand the winter in the gardens of Pro-vence and Languedoc, as well as on the coast from -Bordeaux to 

 Ch«rlx)urg, and even in- the Isle of Wight. " . . '- '. 



Some North American dwarf Palms are also cultivated ; the best known is the Sabal Adansonii, a 

 stemless species, hardj' in the south of France. Another, and a greatly pi-eferable one, and equally 

 hardy, is the Chamcerops HystrixyA caulescent species, of which the. stem, bristling withi sharp points,' 

 rarelj' attains the height of three feet. The species first introduced into Europe, probably by the Arabs, 

 is the Date, the tree of the African oases, without which the Sahara would be uninhabitable. It was 



' Coci, or Cocoa-nut fibre, is probably here referred not an uncommon length in Qeylon and the Malay 

 to. — Ed. islands. — Ed. 



'' This has not been verified. Three hundred feet is 



