The Palms of British East India. 349 



Spadix erect, very ramous, branches simple, spreading in every di- 

 rection, from eight to twelve inches long. Male Flowers. Calyx 

 small, slightly three-toothed. Petals three, oblong, white, rigid. 

 Filaments six, very short, inserted into a fleshy globular receptacle. 

 Anthers oblong, erect. Female Flowers on a separate plant. Calyx 

 as above. Petals three, orbicular, concave, equal, rigid, lasting. 

 Germs three, though never more than one ever increases in size, the 

 other two always wither, although they contain the rudiment of a 

 seed every way like the fertile germ ; ovate, each ending in a short 

 recurved style. Stigma simple. Berry when ripe, of a shining 

 black, of the size of a large French bean ; the pulp is sweet and 

 mealy, but in small quantity, the natives eat them as gathered from 

 the bush without any preparation. Seed cartilaginous, of the shape 

 of the berry, grooved longitudinally, as in the common date, pretty 

 smooth, brown on the outside, of a light greyish white within, on the 

 middle of the back there is a small elevation, under which is an oblong 

 pit containing the embryo or first principle of the new plant." 



The leaflets are wrought into mats for sleeping upon, &c. The 

 common petioles are split into three or four, and used to make com- 

 mon baskets of various kinds, but they are not so good for this pur- 

 pose as the Bamboo, which is very elastic, much more durable, and 

 splits easily. The small trunk when divested of its leaves, and the 

 strong brown fibrous web that surrounds it at their insertions, is 

 generally about fifteen or eighteen inches long, and six in diameter 

 at the thickest part ; its exterior or woody part consists of white 

 fibres matted together, these envelope a large quantity of farina- 

 ceous substance, which the natives use for food in times of scarcity. 

 To procure this meal, the small trunk is split into six or eight pieces, 

 dried, and beat in wooden mortars till the farinaceous part is de- 

 tached from the fibres ; it is then sifted to separate them, the meal 

 is then fit for use. The only further preparation it undergoes, is 

 the boiling it into a thick gruel, or as it is called in India, Kanji ; it 

 seems to possess less nourishment than the common sago, and is 

 less- palatable, being considerably bitter when boiled; probably a 

 little care in the preparation, and varying the mode, might improve 

 it ; however, it certainly deserves attention, for during the end of 

 the last, and beginning of this year, and again at this present time, 



