AND THE ECONOMIC PRODUCTS OP THE ATTALEA PALMS. 37 



range from the mouth of La Plata to the British colony of Honduras, 

 but chiefly congregate in the neighbourhood of the Amazon and its 

 tributaries ; their favourite habitat is the forest. They are erect trees, 

 generally of middle size, with thick, irregularly-ringed trunks, terminated 

 by a crown of large pinnatisect leaves (between which the spathes 

 appear), yellowish flowers, and ovate and elliptical fruits (drupes), of 

 a brown or greenish-brown colour, each of which contains generally 

 three, but sometimes four or five, edible seeds. Only a few supply 

 Piassaba. 



What we term " Piassaba " is the fibre surrounding the petiole of the 

 tree, the price and uses of which have already been stated. It has been 

 used here for about a quarter of a century, during which time prices have 

 much fluctuated. Some of the early arrivals were, in fact, thrown into 

 the Thames, when a Customs duty was imposed, and importers would not 

 take it out of bond At least, I fancy that the information collected 

 by Mr Simmonds on this head refers to the Bahia sort as well as to that 

 of Para. 



The first arrival of Parri, Piassaba came to Liverpool in the form of a 

 large bundle, that was made up in Para as a " fender," to let down over the 

 bulwarks, to prevent injury by collision or grazing against the sides of 

 other vessels, the dock-gates or quay, &c. When the ship left Liverpool, the 

 bundle of fibre was thrown upon the quay, and a working brushmaker took 

 it and manufactured a few brushes from it. These were found to answer so 

 well, that a firm afterwards imported a small quantity, which was eagerly 

 bought up by some of the dealers ; and a little time after this date (about 

 seventeen years ago), the trade in this product began. A large number of 

 sugar-vessels were loading in Bahia for Liverpool, and the captains requir- 

 ing something to use as " dunnage," purchased through their agents in 

 Bahia small quantities of piassaba tied up in bundles of about 10 lb. each ; 

 these bundles were packed between the sugar-boxes, which were about 10 

 to 12 cwt. each, and down by the sides of the vessel. It was at first almost 

 unsaleable here, the nominal value being about 51. per ton; but after a time 

 the brush-manufacturers began to use the article more generally, and a 

 good demand sprang up. Mi- F. J. Eaton, of Liverpool, and Mr Robottom, 

 of Birmingham, at once introduced it to all the brushmakers in the United 

 Kingdom, and in a very short time received orders for the whole that was 

 lying in Liverpool. Merchants, finding that the article was attracting 

 attention, soon began to import small quantities, and each vessel brought 

 from 5 to 20 tons ; the price gradually increased, and as freights became 

 lower large quantities were shipped, some vessels bringing as much as 

 100 tons. The article is now looked upon as a staple export, and is regu- 

 larly quoted in the Bahia Prices-Current. One vessel just arrived in Loudon 

 has brought over 200 tons, and many vessels bring from 50 to 100 tons at 

 a time. Of course, this is now brought on freight, and not, as formerly, 

 for dunnage. 



The nuts of the tree are also an article of commerce, lonq brought 



