PRODUCTS  OF  THE  NATURAL  ORDER  PALMACEiE. 
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THE  USEFUL  PRODUCTS  OF  THE  NATURAL  ORDER 
PALMACE^E. 
The  natural  order  Palmacese  comprises  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  plants  in  the  world,  and  is  not  only  remarkable  for  the 
majestic  forms  of  its  species,  and  their  position  at  the  head  of 
the  endogenous  division  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  but  also  for 
the  great  value  of  their  products  to  the  human  family.  It  is 
this  latest  quality,  and  not  the  botanical  history  of  the  order, 
which  formed  the  subject  of  Mr.  Archer's  lecture.  He  based  his 
remarks  on  the  system  proposed  by  the  late  Mr.  William  Griffiths, 
in  his  work  on  The  Palms  of  British  India,  though  he  would 
have  preferred  the  arrangement  of  Martius,  had  he  been  able  to 
procure  his  work.  The  first  division  is  that  of  the  Calamine, 
which  comprises  several  most  useful  genera.  Zalacca,  an  Indian 
genus,  yields  the  beautiful  sticks  called  Malacca  canes ;  these 
are  the  thin  stems  of  the  Z.  edulis ;  when  first  gathered,  they  are 
of  a  light  yellow  color,  and  in  order  to  produce  the  much  admired 
brown  color,  they  are  smoked,  by  being  suspended  over  wood 
fires. 
Calamus  is  another  Indian  genus,  several  of  which  yield  useful 
products.  The  most  valuable  is  the  long  slender  stem  of  the  C* 
rotang,  or  the  rattan  cane  of  commerce,  so  extensively  used  in 
this  country  for  chair  bottoms,  &c.  It  is  applied  to  an  amazing 
number  of  useful  purposes  in  India  and  China,  not  the  least 
important  of  which  is  that  of  tying  up  packages  for  transport  to> 
distant  countries,  such  bandages  having  an  advantage  which  none 
of  the  ordinary  fibrous  materials  possess,  being  almost  imperish- 
able, and  consequently  not  rotted  by  exposure  to  damp  in  the 
vessel's  hold.  This  arises  from  the  large  quantity  of  oil  which 
these  plants  secrete  and  deposit  on  the  outside  of  their  stems» 
Dragon's  blood  is  yielded  by  Calamus  Draco,  and  perhaps  other 
species.    It  is  a  peculiar  resinous  secretion  of  the  fruit. 
Many  palms  of  this  division  yield  sago.  This  farina  is  pre- 
pared from  the  trunks  of  these  palms,  which  are  of  a  gigantic 
stature,  and  as  much  as  from  500  to  800  pounds  are  sometimes 
yielded  by  one  tree. 
Raphia  is  a  genus  of  magnificent  South  American  palms, 
luxuriating  in  the  rich  plains  of  the  Amazon.    One  species,  N. 
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