ENDOGENOUS TREES. 31 



of the yagua). The bark is flexible, very durable, and serves to cover 

 houses aud divide their interiors, to make chests and boxes for storing 

 clothing and for transporting rice and coffee. On a journey the leaves 

 are taken as a protection from heavy rains, and they serve many other 

 uses. 



The palrn most highly prized by the Porto Ricans is called the 

 a Palma de gravia" (or grana?), the " Royal palm." Growing to 100 

 feet or more, its slender trunk is crowned near its summit by leaves. 

 A green shoot, delicate and pointed, from 10 to 12 feet in length, 

 constitutes the upper end of the trunk. At the base of this terminal 

 portion a fruit cluster from 3 to 4 hands in length, divided into different 

 branchlets, grows out about once a month. This cluster is full of a 

 green, olive-shaped fruit, larger than the filbert, the interior nut being 

 covered with a green substance. This fruit of the royal palm is very 

 useful in fattening swine, which is the only use made of it. In the 

 other islands they extract an oil from this fruit which is very good for 

 lights and other uses. The central part (the heart) of this palm is 

 cooked and eaten like cabbage, and is sometimes prepared as a salad. 

 The Indians call it the "pira" (pile or pyre). In Porto Rico it is rarely 

 used, although it has an agreeable taste. 



The palms called "coyures" are taller even than the royal palms; the 

 fruit grows in clusters, but is smaller, and the hard, round nuts, much 

 like the above, serve as food for swine. At the foot of the trunk of 

 this palm is formed a tuft like a pedestal, composed of a mass of small 

 roots, from which grow thick fibers. These reach to the upper portion 

 of the palm and form the stem through which the sap passes. The 

 negroes extract from this palm a vinous liquid which is very agreeable 

 and healthful. It is used as a specific in cases of fever. 



The palm called "corozo" (oil palm) is very common. Its tall trunk 

 is entirely covered with sharp thorns 3 fingers in length. At the top it 

 is crowned by very long fronds. Its fruit is in small clusters, composed 

 of nuts as large as eggs, whose yellow covering is very hard and bursts 

 when ripe. The inner nut-is white, divided into three parts, less solid 

 than the outer shell. Its taste is agreeable, but it sours in a short time. 

 In Porto Rico the corozo serves as food for swine, but foreigners extract 

 from its nuts an oil which is medicinal, and useful for many purposes. 



The coco palm is found in great numbers on the plains and coasts, 

 and is a profitable plant for cultivation. The external sheath of the 

 cocoanut is composed of a multitude of fibers which form a nap of a 

 reddish color, which is excellent for calking boats, as it resists water 

 better than tow, and endures longer. The Indians make a cordage from 

 this fiber, and sails for their boats, and in the dockyards of Guayaquil, 

 Ecuador, they use no other calking material in repairing vessels. 

 Beneath this exterior fibrous covering is another, the color of chest- 

 nuts, which is very hard, and, although elastic, is easily broken. A 



