VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTIONS. 333 
they stick fast and hold up the stem. The rattan-palm 
('Calamus rotang) of the East Indies climbs over the trees 
in a similar way. The Guatemalan climber bears a small 
cluster of spiny but edible nuts. The graceful little 
Chamaedoreas may be found in flower or fruit at almost 
any season of the year, and their slender stems make good 
walking-sticks. The confra ( Mctnicaria JPlukenetii), so 
useful for thatching, grows only near the sea, usually 
in clumps of five or more. The nut is globular when one- 
celled, and about two inches in diameter. The coco 
(Cocos nucifera) is too well known to need description, 
though we shall consider the commercial importance of 
the nuts presently. Of the other fifty or more species of 
palms few have been identified, and their local names 
have no meaning for us. 
To the family of orchids the collector is sure to turn 
with eagerness ; but I must confess that the brilliant colors 
and bizarre forms of these flowers are not attractive to 
me. They are parasites ; and although possessing a com¬ 
mercial value far above many more beautiful and honest 
flowers, only the vanilla has any useful qualities, so far 
as known. The vanilla moreover is an article of luxury, 
not necessity; for doubtless the chemist will discover, 
if he has not already done so, a substitute in some of 
the thousand and one products of the decomposition of 
coal-tar. 
All along the coast the Epidendrum bicornutum and 
the Schomburgkia tibicina are very common, affecting 
mangroves especially. On orange-trees in the Motagua 
valley grows a bright little yellow Oncidium , the flower 
being the largest part of the plant. In the mountains is 
an orchid which bears several long spikes of rich purple 
