Washington sentinel., 1898-06-04
!. .,., SENTINEL
The Royal Palm of Cuba.

The Royal Palm OF Cuba.
Robert Blight. in Current Literature.
Not only is the climate of Cuba
favorable to the planting of crops
whenever the farmer chooses to
plant them and the lands so rich
that no fertilization is ever re-
quired, but nature seems to have,
with a benehcent hand, reared
many strange trees and plants to
supply the wants of man without
the necessity of his planting them
himself. First among these are
the palms--some tWentY-siX vaTi-
eties Of which adorn the islds Of
Cuba, giving shade, food and life.
AT the head Of these stands the
royal palm. This majestic tree
consists oi tall, straight trunk OF
fibrous wood, supporting cluster
of pennated leaves, like bunch Of
plumes on a long stick. Ii is a
marvel of beauty and utility, yet it
is one OF the most common OF all
trees IN Cuba. 1t is met with most
everywhere; in the centre of a
broad pasture land it often stands
alone, tall and straight; while
bordering the cultivated fields of
the rich planter it forms shady
avenues to his dwelling. Again
its seed finds root among the
SlOOEEI Sf tLNs so-~~bss forest. send
ing the tall shaft high up to lind
room tor its fairy-like cluster Of
plumes in the free air above. On
the plains it often forms delicious
groves OF shade, and on the dis
tant mountain it may be seen rear.
ing its plumed crest against the
sky, and in the valley below its
dark green leaves murmur softly
in sweet cadence with the winding
river over which they sway.
This palm has been called the
blessed tree, tor every part OF it
has its usefulness to mankind.
,nCertain medical qualities are
SFmed for its roots, and its trunk
3 easily split into strips, making
excellent boards for the siding Of
houses, benches, and even tables.
AS the trunk is without any bark,
and its centre is very porous, in
Sreasing in density toward the outer
surface which is nearly as hard as
glass, it is only the outside hard
shell OF the trunk which furnishes
these boards. From this hard hb-
rous wood some very pretty canes
are made, which take a most
beautiful polish. The leaves of
the palm grow from the centre OF
the trunk, first in the form ofa deli
cate spire shooting up, which
gradually unfolding itself forms a
new leaf. These leaves continue
to grow from the centre spire TO a
great length, forming the cluster
which, in the case OF the royal
palm, resembles so much bunch
Of enormous plumes. The leaves
when they cannot grow any more
drop to the ground from the bot
tom oi the cluster, thus making
room for he new ones which are
always coming out OF the centre.
The bud or root of the centre
spire, from which the leaves grow,
consists of a tender substance
buried deep down within the clus-
-ter-of green leaves, and forms a
very palatable food, either in the
raw state, or cooked as a vegetable
or made into a preserve with
sugar.
One of the peculiarities Of the
royal palm is the stem Of its long
leaves. IL is a semicircular stem,
which embraces the trunk OF the
tree and holds the leaf in place un-
tai it withers and drops to the
ground. This stem is called the
"yagua." 1t resembles a thin
board, often as long as a man is
tall, and the Cuban insurgent, now
struggling for independence,
makes it serve him a variety Of
purposes. For example, while l
was in she field it frequently
served as plate by simply cutting
off a section Of it. By soaking it
in water it is rendered pliable,
so that it may be folded almost as
readily as a piece of stiff paper.
Thus softened it is folded at the
ends, something after the fashion
OF bakers paper hat, and fast
ened with wooden pins. In this
shape it is called "catarro." and
serves the Cuban farmer as a water
bucket, or a washbasin, or a re-
ceptacle tor milk, lard, cheese, |
eggs, or whenever a receptacle of |
any kind may be needed l
have seen a group OF rebels using
a "yagua" thus folded as a kettle
in which to cook their breakfast |
Of beefand Yams. The water kept |
the hbrous wood from burning and
| was assured that the food thus
cooked required no salt other than
that which was extracted from the
'Yagua" in the process Of cooking. |
| was also assured that in case Of /
absolute necessity salt could be
obtained by the simple process of
boiling water in "catarro" when
green, and one enthusiast esti
mated that a dozen "catarros"
would produce a pound Of salt.
---s-a~H~-
T.aofea and Tphacoo