New-York daily tribune., 1844-03-15
d.. FrsLAr's PlAyrA1lon, (a5ou 10 r.sles from

city,
Dr. FiSLAY's PLANTATION, taJo,4 10 males from.
RGrana,) iih February, laii5
Ny DEAR SIR-PlGntain is the constant food
of all sorts of animals here it is exceedingly nu.
'rltlous and very cheap. The best kind that we
gather Is the Indian Plantain which, when ripe.
is OF salmon color, red, and very delicious. You
get but two sorts in New York, the common kind
and the banana. TO thesema be added, besides
the KIND | before mentioned, Guinea banana, and
the hg banana, which is said Il have not seen it. to
be SO called from It's not being much larger than
fig, and very delicious. The common Plantain
Is The one in ordinary use. They fry it and bring
II on our table at breakfast, dinner and supper.
1t is the MAN support Of their negro Slaves, and
is gwen TO them constantly, as well as TO their
swine and sheep.
1t is cultivated here In great abundance, and
with great cheapnoss. 1t is interspersed among
the coffee trees, and seems 10 require very little
additional labor, and no additional land 1t
grows like corn III hill but the stalk is about
the size at the base Of mans leg There is
usually one principal stalk, and three or four
smaller ones surrounding it.
Tie Paima Christi is cultivated here with
great success, producing in great abundance
They usually all spring from one stalk, which
branches near the root into four or five separate
ones. These branches run up like poles about
II or Il feet high they arc Of d soft. woody
fibre, something like alder-stems but not as hard
The leaf is almost as large as that OF Z pumpkin.
vine, and much OF the same shape. On each
stalk there are usually several clusters OF burrs
and IN each cluster perhaps twenty burrs. and III
each burr from two to four beautifully specked
black and white beans about the size of ordinary
kidney beans. The burr Is little smaller than
our ordinary chesnut. burr, and opens like the
shuck Of walnut when npe and dry. There
are three methods Of obtaining the oil-frsl, 10y
boiling the bean in water and skimlniug the sur
face, which is the most crude method. although
the ordinary one of the country. Tho oil thus
procured, is Of course, very turbld and inferior.
Secondly means Of a screw propelled by
steam engines-this produces very good oil but
is not equal to the third, nasmuch DIS it cannot be
aS deIicately managed.
Thirdly means also of an iron screw, lnser-
serted INTO an iron cylinder turned by means Of
levers inserted INTO something like the capstan
OF ID vessel. This is not well adapted to
rylng on an extensive business III expressing
the oil, but is more favorable TO procuring the
purest kind
have us yet seen but five different species OF
Palm. First, the common Palm, called the
Cabbage Palm, which rises TO the hight of 60 to
] 90 feet without branches or leaves-i.c c. the
woody part. It is used here, only above the
woody part. First, there are from four to SIX
feet smooth and green; this part is used as
vegetable, like cabbage, from whence it derives
It's name The five or six layers are peeled of,
when we arrive at the white or tender part,
which, when boiled, resembles a turnip, only it
has less flavor. At the junction of the green
part with the woody part, three or four bushes of
berries shoot out from a substance which much
resembles clcas, not harder than corn-stalks.-
These berries arc gathered, and arc excellent
food for swine. At the upper end of the green
part enormous leaves or tcathery branches put
out, which resemble huge ostrich feathers. These
are used for variety OF purposes, particularly
for thatching ncgro-houses, making hats, NC.
The roots of this tree arc not larger than
LARGE pipe-stem. These fihrouS roots are said TO
extend very far into the soil, and to lnslnuatc
themselves very easily in the rocks. have seen
them growing on the rocks, where no soil was
near them apparently. When torn up the roots
are said to resemble locks of hair The stem,
lnlmeGlatelV ABOVE SlOullu, S"tIiS lito hlilu
of bulb, two feet and half in diameter and then
immediately above ii contracts to two feet dame
ter. and then swells again towards the top to lis
original dimensions, and again contracts before
reaching the green parts. The stem is very
white, and looks as if turned IN a lathe. 1T has
very thick skin around the roots but II becomes
as thin and smooth as paper as you ascend
was vcrv much amused to.d day in seeing the
| If tree IN
berries, by means of ropes. They were tied
round the tree about four feet apart, and strrup
attached to each, in which he placed his foot
and ascendcd the tree with facility, by means OF
raising first one rope and then the other. The
stem of the tree consists OF very hard rind, per-
hans three inches thick, and an interior plth
The Date tree is also species OF the Palm 1t
does not grow as high as the ordinary Palm, and
the outside is much more rough. 1t ls,covercd
until s or 10 years OF age with large leaves,
which serve to protect 1t from the weather, and
as il grows older they break Oft and leave the
ster, as rough as if covered all over with cleats
nailed to the body of the tree
The Cocoanut is also a specleS OF the
Palm. This resembles the Date much more than
the first species described, the Cabbage Palm 1t
meyer prows above from 20 TO 50 ieet nigh, and
the body is rougher than the Cabbage Palm, and
not 50 rough as the date
The flower of the Cocoanut is very beautiful,
and is often used here, understand, by ladies 10
crown their boques, Ii bears most striking
resemblance to a miniature tree done III wax.
The Palm on this continent IS not found North
Of this place, believe at least not more than
two or three degrees. am confident 1t IS
no, fonnd IN louisiana nor Florida ltls an ex-
csedingly tender plant this is plainly seen by the
manner in which Providence oEdains that The
swaddline clothes should grow up around the m
FAINT plant. Every species that have yet seen IS
covered with five or six thicknesses OF leaves as