PRODUCTS OF PALMS. 



43 



abundance of wholesome food, and the whole of the trunk 

 of the sago-palm is converted into an edible starch — 

 our sago. Many other palm-fruits yield a thin pulp, too 

 small in quantity to be directly eaten, but which when 

 rubbed off and mixed with a proper quantity of water 

 forms an exceedingly nutritious and agreeable article 

 of food. The most celebrated of these is the assai of 

 the Amazon, made from the fruit of Euterpe oleracea, 

 and which, as a refreshing, nourishing, and slightly 

 stimulating beverage for a tropical country, takes the 

 place of our chocolate and coffee. A number of other 

 palms yield a similar product, and many that are not 

 eaten by man are greedily devoured by a variety of 

 animals, so that the amount of food produced by this 

 tribe of plants is much larger than is generally supposed. 



The sap which pours out of the cut flower-stalk of 

 several species of palm when slightly fermented forms 

 palm- wine or toddy, a very agreeable drink ; and w^hen 

 mixed with various bitter herbs or roots which check 

 fermentation, a fair imitation of beer is produced. If 

 the same fluid is at once boiled and evaporated it 

 produces a quantity of excellent sugar. The Arenga 

 saccharifera, or sugar-palm of the Malay countries, is 

 perhaps the most productive of sugar. A single tree 

 will continue to pour out several quarts of sap daily 

 for weeks together, and where the trees are abundant 

 this forms the chief drink and most esteemed luxury of 

 the natives. A Dutch chemist, Mr. De Vry, who has 

 studied the subject in Java, believes that great advan- 

 tages would accrue from the cultivation of this tree in 

 place of the sugar-cane. According to his experiments 

 it would produce an equal quantity of sugar of good 



