THE PALM FAMILY. 



147 



Shiploads of nuts are anmially conveyed to countries where 

 it is not cultivated. 



Cabbage Palm (Areca oleraced). A common palm of the 

 West Indies. It has a slender stem, and grows to a great 

 height. This and others of the same nature are called 

 Cabbage Palms, on account of their young unexpanded 

 leaves being used as a vegetable. Seaforthia elegans is the 

 Cabbage Palm of New South Wales ; it, with the elegant Fan 

 Palm {Corypha Australis), Tree Ferns, Cedar [Cedrela), 

 Gigantic Nettle, and other remarkable trees of tropical aspect, 

 formed the primeval natural forests of the Illawarra district 

 of New South Wales, and although one hundred years have 

 not passed since first seen by civilized man, they are now fast 

 disappearing ; remnants only remaining in places where the 

 plough has not reached. 



Peach Palm {Guilielma speciosa). A native of Venezuela, 

 where it is called Perigao. It is also found near the Orinoco, 

 and grows to the height of 50 to 60 feet, the stem being co- 

 vered with long sharp spines. It is largely cultivated for its 

 fruit, which constitutes a great part of the food of the natives. 



Coquito Nut {Juhcea spectahilis). A native of Chili, and 

 is the most southern of American Palms. In habit it is 

 similar to the Date Palm. The fruit is about the size of a hen's 

 egg, consisting of a husk enclosing a nut about as large as a 

 marble. If the leaves are cut, a large quantity of sap of the 

 consistency of treacle flows out, from which sugar is manu- 

 factured, forming an article of Chilian trade. The nuts 

 are eaten, and are sometimes imported to this country. 



Assai Palm {Euterpe edulis). A Brazilian palm found on 

 low grounds, and at the mouths of rivers near the sea, as at 

 Para, where it grows in great abundance. It has a slender 

 stem, about 30 feet high, bearing its fruit in bunches. The 

 fruits are of a bluish colour, about the size of sloes, and have 

 a small amount of pulpy matter between the skin and the 

 nut. They are thrown into water and bruised until the pulp 

 is mixed with the water, which is then strained off. A 

 mixture of sugar and Cassava flour is added to the liquor, 



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