46 TROPICAL NATURE, AND OTHER ESSAYS. 



species, while fine string of excellent quality used even 

 for bow-strings, fishing-lines, and hammocks, is made of 

 fibres obtained from the unopened leaves of some American 

 species. The fibrous sheath at the base of the leaves of 

 the cocoa-nut palm is so compact and cloth-like, that it 

 is used for a variety of purposes, as for strainers, for 

 wrappers, and to make very good hats. The great 

 woody spathes of the larger palms serve as natural 

 baskets, as cradles, or even as cooking- vessels in which 

 water may be safely boiled. The trunks form excellent 

 posts and fencing, and when split make good flooring. 

 Some species are used for bows, others for blow-pipes ; 

 the smaller species are sometimes used as needles or to 

 make fish-hooks, and the larger as arrows. To describe 

 in detail all the uses to which palm-trees and their 

 products are applied in various parts of the world 

 might occupy a volume ; but the preceding sketch will 

 serve to give an idea of how important a part is filled 

 by this noble family of plants, whether we regard them 

 as a portion of the beautiful vegetation of the tropics, or 

 in relation to the manners and customs, the lives and 

 the well-being of the indigenous inhabitants. 



Ferns. — The type of plants which, next to palms, 

 most attracts attention in the equatorial zone, is perhaps 

 that of the ferns, which here display themselves in vast 

 profusion and variety. They grow abundantly on rocks 

 and on decaying trees ; they clothe the sides of ravines 

 and the margins of streams ; they climb up the trees and 

 over bushes ; they form tufts and hanging festoons 

 among the highest branches. Some are as small as mosses, 

 others have huge fronds eight or ten feet long, while in 

 mountainous districts the most elegant of the group, the 



