out of the sea toa height of 2840 Aas 
Heats Admiral Richard Hote of Brit- | 
ain, he named. this picturesque island, Lord 
Howe Island. Shaped like a ‘boomerang, 
lies 480 miles northeast of Sidney, Australia. 
Surrounding this secluded, tropical paradise od 
is a broad coral reef which protects, it is said, ‘a a 
the most beautiful beach of brilliant white 
sand in the world. 
Lord Howe Island with its even, subtropi- 
cal temperature and abundant moisture is 
ideal for the Paradise Palm (Kentia forsteri- 
ana) to thrive luxuriantly and produce seed 
for the commercial market. Covering © the 
island like a blanket of green, the Paradise 
grows from seashore to the highest peak. 
How the Paradise Palm was distributed 
around the world from this small island is 
one of the most romantic stories of horticul- _ 
ture. Traders picking up fresh water and veg- 
etables from the island gathered a few seeds 
and planted them on other islands; later 
plants were brought from Lord Howe Island 
to Britain, Europe and America for deco-’ 
rative purposes. Horticulturists soon learned 
that from seed they could successfully grow 
the Paradise Palm. However, we still look to 
this secluded tropical island for our supply 
of Paradise Palm seeds; the sale of which 
supports the resident population of this ex- 
otic island community. 
Seed Gather- 
ing on Lord 
Howe Island 
