Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/132

LEFT PALM 90 PALM nal bud of several consists of a mass of tender mucilaginous leaves, vi^hich are esteemed a delicate and delicious vege- table. Many yield by incision or other- wise an abundance of sweet sap, from which sugar, refreshing drinks, wines, spirits, and vinegar are obtained. Their leaves are used for thatch, and for the making of mats, baskets, hats, umbrel- las, thread, cord, and clothing. They yield excellent and inexhaustible mate- rials and they are in some cases a natural substitute for writing paper, the records and writings of many Eastern peoples being inscribed upon them. The order comprises between 130 and 140 genera, and the number of species known is variously estimated by differ- ent authorities as from 600 to 1,000. The genus Chamsedorea, composed of about 60 species, are used in South America for making bridges. The flow- ers of several of the species are highly esteemed as a culinary vegetable in some of the countries of Central America. The fruit of Leopoldma major, called by the natives of Brazil Jara-assu, is col- lected by them and burned, and the ash, after being washed, is used as a substi- tute for salt. Euterpe edulis — also a native of Brazil — produces fruit like the sloe from which a beverage is made and Oncosperma filamentosa furnish ed- ible cabbage. From the fruit of the CEnocarpus batava a wholesome bever- age called Patawa-yukisse is made on the Rio Negro. The fruit of Oreodoxa regia, an extremely handsome palm, a native of Cuba, is too acrid for human food, but is used there for fattening hogs. Areca catechu is the betel-nut palm, the fruit is much used in India. Be- sides being used as a masticatory and medicine in cases of dysentery, the sub- stance is employed in tanning leather and in dyeing calico. But the true cab- bage palm is A. oleracea, indigenous to the West Indies, attaining the height of 170 to 200 feet, with a diameter of stem of about 7 feet. The terminal bud or "cabbage" has the flavor of the almond, but with greater sweetness, and is boiled and eaten with meat. Its removal causes the death of the tree. The in- florescence is extracted from the spathes before they open, are pickled, and es- teemed a delicate relish with meat. The nuts yield a useful oil by decoction. The shell or outer hard crust of the stem is employed in making gutters, and the pith yields a kind of sago if extracted im- mediately the tree is felled. ^ Ceroxlyon {Iriartia) a^idicola, a na- tive of Peru, growing at an elevation of 8,000-10,000 feet above sea-level, is a handsome species rising to the height of 160 or more feet. The stem exudes from the annular cicatrices of the fallen leaves a resinous substance called by the in- habitants cera de palma. It is em- ployed in candle making. Besides the resinous exudation the trunk yields a valuable and durable timber, the leaves are excellent and durable material for thatch, and they supply a strong, useful fiber for the manufacture of ropes and cordage. The kiziuba palm (C. exor- rhiza) is a native of Central and South America. The timber is used in floor- ing and for making umbrella sticks, mu- sical instruments, etc. Blowpipes for poisoned arrows are made from the stems of C. setigera (see Blowpipe). The sugar palm (Arenga saccharif era) is a native of the Moluccas, Cochin- China, and the Indian Archipelago. It yields an abundant sweet sap, from which a chocolate-colored sugar named jaggery is made. The sap fermented makes an intoxicating drink variously named by the inhabitants of the differ- ent countries neroo or brum. From the pith of the stem sago is obtained in great quantity, a single stem yielding as much as from 150 to 200 pounds. The leaves supply Gomuto fiber, which is cel- ebrated for its great strength and dura- bility when formed into cordage and ropes, and at the base of the leaves a fine woolly material, named baru is em- ployed in caulking ships, stuffing cush- ions, and making tinder. Caryota urens, one of the noblest palms of India, yields some remarkable products. From the terminal bud a sweet watery liquor is obtained. The terminal bud is also eaten as a cabbage. From the pith of the stem sago is ob- tained, which is made into bread, and prepared in various other ways, and is a valuable article of food to the natives. The genus Calamus and its immediate allies are regarded as forming a con- necting link between the palms and the grasses. Certain species — viz. C. Rox- burghii, C. Royleanus furnish the rat tan canes employed in making ropes and cables, chair bottoms, couches, baskets, mats, etc. The walking sticks known as Malacca canes are made from the stems of C scipionum, a species which grows not in Malacca, but in Sumatra. The stems of the great rattan (C. ru-< dentium) and others are of prodigious length with a dense siliceous crust on the surface. C. draco furnishes the fin- est quality of the resinous substance known as "dragon's blood." Zalacca edulis is regularly cultivated by the Bur- mese for the sake of its pleasantly acid- ulous fruit. Raphia vinifera, a native