132 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
the beauty of plants, but of their origin, uses, and what 
they do for us ns teachers in the great school of Nature. 
THE PALM FAMILY. 
The family of palms form one of the most magnifi¬ 
cent in the vegetable kingdom. Intermediate in their 
structure between herbaceous plants and trees, they 
possess the towering height and majesty of the grandest 
trees, combined with an elegance of form and beauty of 
proportion that associates them with the delicate and 
graceful fern. They are all natives of tropical and 
sub-tropical regions, and bring to us associations of 
bright and sunny skies, and a temperature in which 
. their leafy shade and the cooling products which they 
yield must be peculiarly grateful and appropriate. 
Linnmus called them the Princes of the Vegetable King¬ 
dom, a designation which they well deserve, when we 
consider their immense value to mankind, as affording 
food and raiment, and in fact everything necessary to 
the sustenance of hitman life. It has been asserted by 
such distinguished writers as Humboldt, Von Martius, 
and others no less eminent, that the products of this 
family of plants sustain a greater number of the human 
family than the cereals of the world. 
This family is composed of more than one thousand 
species, embracing the greatest variety of form, size 
and shape. Some of the species have a diameter of 
trunk measuring nearly four feet, and reaching the 
enormous height of one hundred and eighty feet, always 
perfectly straight, and but very rarely, if ever, branch¬ 
ing. Other species, like the rattan (Calamus Rudentum), 
have a diameter of about three-fourths of an inch, and 
grow to more than one thousand feet in length, reach¬ 
ing to the tops of the tallest trees, then dropping to the 
ground, again ascending, thus festooning whole forests 
in which it grows. The products of this family are as 
varied as their forms, and constitute many important 
articles of commerce. To the palms we are indebted for 
sago, oil, wax, matting, brushes, cocoa-nuts, vegetable 
ivory. They also yield wine, flour, sugar, salt; while 
their leaves and trunks are made into almost every 
design known m the mechanic arts. 
One of the most important of the species is the cocoa- 
nut tree (Cocos Nucifera), an inhabitant of the entire 
torrid zone, and found in the greatest abundance in the 
neighborhood of the seas. It rises to the height of one’ 
hundred feet, and is surmounted by a crest of pinnated 
leaves about twelve feet long, resembling a bunch of 
feathers. The fruit is too well known to need descrip¬ 
tion. A fixed oil is obtained from the tree, and every 
part of the tree, in short, is useful to man, either to 
clothe, feed or shelter him. 
We borrow from “ Bonifas-Guizot's Botany for Youth ” 
the following passage. Although allegorical, it shows 
the varied advantages the inhabitants of tropical coun¬ 
tries draw from the cocoa-nut tree and its products: “Im¬ 
agine a traveler passing through one of these countries 
situated under a burning sky, where coolness and shade 
are so rare, and where habitations, in which to take the 
repose so necessary to the traveler, are only to be found 
at considerable distances. Panting and dispirited, he 
at length perceives a hut surrounded by some trees with 
straight, erect stems, surmounted by an immense tuft of 
great leaves, some being upright and the others pendant, 
giving an elegant and agreeable aspect to the scene. 
Nothing else near the cabin indicates cultivated land. 
At this sight the spirits of the traveler revive; he col¬ 
lects his strength, and is soon beneath the hospitable 
roof. His host offers him a sourish drink, with which 
he slakes his thirst: it refreshes him. When he has 
taken some repose, the Indian invites liim to share liis 
repast. He serves up various meats, contained in a 
brown-looking vessel, smooth and glossy ; he serves also 
some wine of an extremely agreeable flavor. Towards 
the end of the repast his host offers him certain succu¬ 
lent comforts, and he is made to taste some excellent 
spirits. The astonished traveler asks who iu this desert 
country furnishes him with all these things. “My 
cocoa-nut tree ” is the reply. ‘ • The water I presented you 
with on your arrival is drawn from the fruit before it is 
ripe, and some of the nuts that contain it weigh three or 
four pounds. This almond, so delicate in its flavor, is 
the fruit when ripe. This milk which you find so agree¬ 
able is drawn from the nut; this cabbage, whoso flavor 
is so delicate, is the top of the cocoa-nut tree, but we 
rarely regale ourselves with this delicacy, for the tree 
from which the cabbage is cut dies soon after. This 
wine, with which you are so satisfied, is still furnished 
by the cocoa-nut tree. In order to obtain it an iucision 
is made into the spallte of the flowers. It flows from it 
in a white liquor, which is gathered in proper vecsels, 
and we call it palm-wine; exposed to the sun, it gets 
sour and turns to vinegar - . By distillation we obtain this 
very good brandy which you have tasted. The sap has 
supplied the sugar - with which these preserves are sweet¬ 
ened. These vessels and utensils have been made out of 
the shell of the nut. Nor is this all; this habitation 
itself I owe entirely to these invaluable trees ; with their 
wood my cabin is constructed; their leaves, dried and 
plaited, form the roof; made into an umbrella, they 
shelter me from the sun in my walks ; the clothes that 
cover me are made from the filaments of their leaves. 
These mats, which serve so many useful purposes, pro¬ 
ceed from them also. The sifter which you behold was 
found made to my hand in that part of the tree whence 
the leaves issue; with these same leaves woven togetlrer 
we can make sails for ships; the species of fibre that 
envelop the nut is much preferable to tow for caulking 
ships; it does not rot in the water, and it swells in imbib¬ 
ing it; it makes excellent string, and all sorts of cable 
and cordage. Finally, the delicate oil that has seasoned 
many of our meats, and that which burns in my lamp, 
is expressed from the fresh kernel.” 
The stranger would listen with astonishment to the 
poor Indian, who, having only his cocoa-nut tree, had 
nearly everything that was necessary for his existence. 
When the traveler was disposed to take his departure, 
his host again addressed him : “I am about to write to 
a friend I have in the city. May I ask you to charge 
yourself with the communication?” “Yes; but will 
your cocoa-nut tree still supply you with what you 
want?” “Certainly,” said the Indian ; “with the saw¬ 
dust from severing the leaves I made this ink, and with 
the leaves this parchment. In former times it was used 
to record all public and memorable acts.” 
“Count th'at day lost, whose low descending sun 
Sees from thy hand no worthy action done. ” 
“ Mount upward ! Heaven is won by prayer. 
Be sober, for you are not there.— Keble. 
