343 The Palms. 



mous bract developed from its base, called a spathe, which 

 enwraps them all. The perianth consists of a calyx and 

 corolla, each in three pieces. The stamens are commonly six 

 in number ; sometimes, however, only three ; and occasionally 

 indefinite. The ovary is superior, generally divided into three 

 cells, of which each contains a seed. The styles and stigmas 

 of the three carpels are more or less adherent. In the ripe 

 fruit, however, it is commonly found that the seed of only one 

 cell has been developed, and that the other cells are therefore 

 obliterated. In the common Cocoa-nut we have an example 

 of this : the fruit when covered with the husk is evidently 

 three-lobed ; and when the husk is detached, the shell exhibits 

 three spots upon its rounded end, of which two are hard, while 

 the other is soft, and easily perforated. The fibrous husk is 

 the outer wall of the ovarium ; the shell is the inner wall, with 

 which the seed is in close contact. If the cocoa-nut be cut 

 through lengthwise, by a section passing through the middle 

 of the soft spot, it will be found that the small embryo is just 

 beneath it, lying in the midst of the firm, fleshy albumen ; and 

 we understand, therefore, that the two hard spots indicate the 

 positions of the two embryos which have not been developed. 

 In the Date-Palms, the staminiferous and pistilliferous flowers 

 grow on separate trees ; and the fertilization of the latter is 

 dependent upon the conveyance of the pollen from the former, 

 which is usually accomplished by the agency of the wind, of 

 insects, &c. But if unseasonable weather, or any accident, 

 should prevent this, the Date crops entirely fail, or the fruit is 

 degenerate, and unfit for food. In order to prevent such an 

 occurrence, the Arabs, many tribes of whom rely almost en- 

 tirely on this tree for their supplies of food, have long been ac- 

 customed to gather the stamineous clusters, and to hang them 

 over the pistilline flowers ; and they even lay up stores of pol- 

 len from year to year. When they make inroads into districts 

 inhabited by hostile tribes, they cut down the stamen-bearing 

 Palms, as one of the most severe injuries they can inflict. 



The stems of Palms are the best of all examples of Endo- 

 genous structure. They are frequently so dense externally, as 

 to bear the stroke of a sharp hatchet, without injury. This is 

 caused by the very close interweaving of the woody bundles 



