Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-04-04
PALMS..
THE ARISTOCRACY OF THE
VEGETABLE KINGDOM.
Many Palms are Useful to Mantle
Historical Cocoa Palm-The
Queen of the Oasis
The Betel Nut.

Independe1.t, have been called the
4ristocracy Of the vegetable kingdom.
II is estimated that there are about $50
varieties. They are found in different
| ands and under varied conditions;
| !rouped in copse like glades, scattered
through tropical forests, standing
| proudly alone on the plain and towering
| IN the mountains hight. An abundance
If water and a warm climate are, how
| ever, essential for the palm. There are
200 varieties in the Sunda Islands, the
| Moluccas and New Guinea, and only
one in Europe.
The umbrella palm grows in Ceylon
| md Madras to the hight Of fortv-fve
| feet to sixty feet, and las leaves more
han eighteen feet long with fans from
pine to twelve feet in diameter and to
the end of its long life it carries a
gigantic inforescence sixty feet in hight.
The forest palms of the Indian Archi-
pelago of special note are the Cocoa, the
sugar palm, the sage palm and the betel
aut or catechu palm. Isolated and alone
n its stately grandeur is the giant
| L~lvistona; its crest towering above all
| 1ther trees, can be seen at a distance Of
many miles.
In marked contrastwith these immense
palms there is u very dwarf variety, with
.arge feathery leaves. There are also the
climbing palms which wind themselves
among the forest trees to a height OF
Twelve to fifteen hundred feet and make
he Jungle almost ~inpenetrable by reason
Of their strong prickles and swaying ten
drills, thlckly set with thorns and hooks.
the cocoa which grows in Ceylon and
other places in profusion and luxuriantly,
furnishing food, drink, clothing, ma
terial for building, oil and ropes. From
the sap teddy is made, and from this, by
distilation, arrack is procured. The ex-
ports of the oil has been estimated at two
millions of gallons a year.
There is another species of cocoa palm
far more rare-a native only of the Sey-
chelles Islands of the Indian Ocean, and
now limited to two of them. 1t is Of
majestic growth and has fan-shaped
leaves eighteen feet In length and three
in diameter. The fruit has some resem-
blance to the %cocoanut, but the palm does
not belong to that genus. It is divided
into two sections, hence is called the
double cocoanut. 1t has long played
quite an important part in history and
mythical story, being no doubt the once
ocean, and on the shores of the Maldive
Islands. Ignorant IF their source they
were regarded with superstition, and
pilgrimages were made to the place:
where even a fragment of the nut wa;
found, as it was believed to possess
curative power. 1t IS stated that the
Emperor Rudolph was unable to pur.
chase one of these nuts for his offer 3
$4,000.
The rittool palm is very peculiar ant
somber in appearance, having a cres
which greatly resembles the dropping
plumes upon a hearse; the foliage is darl
green with a tinge of gray; the wood i
almost black, and it is the toughest 0
all palms. From it the natives max
their bows.
The TALBOT palm is adorned with
crest of nearly circular, fan-shaped leaves
Of so tough and durable a nature that tn
natives sew them together and max
tents of them. The leaf averages in cir
conference from twenty to thirty feet
but sometimes exceeds this size; they ar
used for umbrellas. The TALBOT has thi
peculiarity-it blossoms only once in
iobS pSAAOo "a NCtiS, auu ticu uleS. Ii
flower forms a magnificent. plume Xix
crown, resembling white ostrich feathers
which stand upon the summit of the Ia
palm as tho they were its natural head
Previous to unfolding, the flower
packed in a large case or bud about fou
feet long. When it can no longer with
stand the pressure it bursts open with
loud report, revealing the beautiful plum
towering above the dropping leave
fastening to decay.
The doom palm is a native of Egyp,
Unlike any other species, it has a forAe,
trunk. 1t grows to a height of thirt
feet, and its fan shaped leaves are fri
quently six feet in length. It bears
psaI-shaped fruit, which is extensiYel
used for food, the taste Of which ha
been compared to an unbaked yince.