temperature -of 21° C. Pereira is a very important agri- 
cultural and commercial centre, and one of the chief 
cattle markets of the Department. 
On November 18th, we left Pereira for Salento, and 
reached there at dusk. This day’s journey was through 
a most fascinating country, the route being in the direction 
of the Cordillera Central. Salento lies at about 1 ,800 metres 
above sea-level, it is situated on a spur of the Cordillera, 
and commands a wonderful view of the surrounding 
country, or what is known as the Hoya del Quindio, 
extending to the distant Cordillera Occidental. The 
average temperature of Salento is 14° C., and the climate 
is considered very healtliy, and a natural sanatorium for 
various complaints and diseases. 
The Ceroxylon Palms. 
The special object of visiting Salento was to enquire 
into the possibility of exploiting, in a commercial way, 
the wax afforded by the Ceroxylon andicola palms. 
Samples of the wax had been previously forwarded to 
England and submitted to the Imperial Institute for 
analysis, with the result that commercial supplies of the 
wax had been requested. Accompanied by Don Carlos 
Marulanda and Don Caesar Lopez, I set out on the 19th 
to make an excursion up the Quindio valley. In the 
hacienda La Britania, the property of Senor Marulanda, 
as will be seen from the accompanying photograph, this 
the bole is often covered with moss or lichen, which 
obviously renders exceedingly difficult the collection of the 
pure wax dust. A further difficulty is that these palms 
occur on different properties, and there are difficulties in 
the way of arranging terms or obtaining permission for 
collecting the wax. The means, most evident, of over- 
coming the first difficulty is that of felling the palm. This, 
however, should be prohibited by the Governmeirt in 
respect of palms on all Government lands, and by private 
owners in respect to palms on their properties, since not 
only would scenery of great beauty be destroyed, but 
also the goose that lays the golden egg. An apparatus 
for climbing, similar to that used for climbing telegraph 
poles, might be employed, and this could be made by any 
blacksmitii. Offers for lots of many tons have been 
received, amounting to five hundred dollars ($500) per 
ton delivered at Barranquilla ; this for the wa.x dust. 
This price should prove an incentive to overcome the 
difficulties that oppose the collection of this product, 
though it is possible that now the war is over the price 
for waxes of this nature will drop. 
The purified Ceroxylon andicola wax is similar in 
character to carnauba wax (Copcrnicia cerijera j which is 
obtained chielly from Brazil, and to the candelilla wax 
{Euphorbia sp.) imported from Mexico, with the exception 
that its melting point is higher. Before the war these 
waxes were selling in the United Kingdom at from £5 to 
Fig. XL— W.-tX P.A.LMS GROWING IN THE QUINDIO VALLEY. 
palm occurs in great quantity, and here we were able to 
study the whole question. 
The Ceroxylon palm is the tallest known — one measured 
by us was found to be 43 metres in length, though 
specimens up to 57 metres in length have been recorded. 
The wax is secreted on the bole or trunk of the palm, as 
well as on the 'underside of the leaves. The w'ax dust is 
scraped off from the bole, and it may be exported in this 
form, or melted and clarified and moulded in block form ; 
in the latter case, how'ever, it should not contain more 
than 1 per cent, of water. 
There are difficulties in the way of the collection of 
this wax on a commercial scale. The principal one is 
the height of the palm, and the lack of a suitable means 
for ascending it and collecting the wax. Another is that 
£9 per cwt. The melting point of the Ceroxylon wax is 
93° C. as compared with 84° C. for carnauba wa.x and 70° 
to 72° C. for candelilla wax. For further particulars 
regarding the composition of this wax reference may be 
made to the Revisla Agricola, of June, 1918— a monthly 
publication of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, 
or to the Bnllelin of the Imperial Inslilnte, Vol. xv., p. 182. 
On the Cordillera Central there appears to be two 
distinct species of Ceroxylon. The C. andicola, which is the 
common one, and another which is dwarfer ; the latter 
has the concentric rings around the bole closer and more 
irregular, the fronds more outspreading, and the wax 
coating on the underside of the leaves browner in colour. 
The latter more usually affects the higher altitudes. The 
andicola is also of less economic importance from the point 
13 
