364 
ON VEGETABLE IVORY PALM. 
known by the name of Tagua, and where, he tells us, " but- 
tons are made from the hard bony perisperm of the seed." 
Gaudichaud, in the still unfinished Partie Botanique of the 
Voyage de la Bonite, devotes three plates to the illustration 
of the flowers and fruit of what he deems several species of 
Phytelephas of Peru and Columbia ; but being, as we have 
already observed, unaccompanied by any observations, we 
are ignorant on what grounds he rests his distinctive cha- 
racters. 
At what period these seeds or " nuts" were first brought 
to England to be used by turners, &c, we have no means 
of ascertaining, nor to what extent they are now imported. 
MacCulloch, in his Dictionary of Commerce, and Dr. Ure, in 
his Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, fyc, are alike silent. 
But from the use that is made of them, the amount is proba- 
bly considerable, and in the turners' and toy-shops of London 
may be purchased, for a shilling each, the nuts, or more pro- 
perly speaking the seeds, either entire, or with one-half of the 
coat removed by turning, so as to exhibit the beautiful ivory- 
like texture of the interior. The entire seeds thus purchased 
had been planted in our garden ; but they had never been 
made to germinate. Hence, all due instructions were given 
to Mr. Purdie when he was sent on his botanical mission, 
some account of which is published in the Companion to the 
Botanical Magazine, and in relation to the Phytelephas or 
Tagua in particular, in the volume for 1847. We there 
earn that the palm inhabits dense shady woods on hills 
/acing the Magdalena, in the province of Ocana, at an ele- 
vation of 1,000 to 3,300 feet above the level of the sea; 
never growing in hot plains or level country. At the season 
when the flowering takes place, the country is said to be 
scented with its fragrance, and when the fruit is advanced, 
all wild animals, especially hogs and turkeys, are extremely 
fond of it. " Enclosing the seeds," observes Mr. Purdie, "is 
a yellow sweet oily pulp, which is collected at the proper 
season (October) and sold, under the name of Pepe del Ta- 
