The Neihart herald. [volume] (Neihart, Mont.) 1890-1901, 1898-10-01
ROYAL PALM OF CUBA.
ALL OF ITS PARTS CAN BIB
MADE OF SOME USE.
-Catarro's" Many Services-Used as q
Wash Basin. Water Bucket or Reoep-
tacle for Milk, Lard, Cheese OF Eggs
-Insurgents' "Yagua.'

Not only Is the climate of Cuba fay-
orable to the planting of crops when
ever the farmer chooses to plant them,
and the lands so rich that no fertiliZa-
ton is ever required, but nature seems
to have, with a beneficent hand, reared
many strange trees and plants to sup
ply the wants of man without the ne
cessity of his planting them himself,
says Current Literature.
First among these are the palms,
some twenty-siX varieties of which
adorn the fields of Cuba, giving shade,
food and life. At the head Of these
stands the royal palm. This majestic
tree consists Of a tall, straight trunk
OF ibrous wood, supporting a cluster
OF pennated leaves, like a bunch of
plumes on a long stick. 1t is a marvel
OF beauty and utility, yet it is n OF
the most common of all trees in Cuba.
1t is met with most everywhere; in
the center of broad pasture lands it
often stands alone, tall and straight;
while bordering the cultivated fields
Of the rich planter it forms shady ave-
nues to his dwelling. Again it's seed
finds root amid the gloom Of the SOM
Der forest, sending the tall shaft high
up to find room for its fairylike clus-
ter OF plumes in the free air above.
On the plains is often found delicious
groves Of shade and on the distant
mountain it may be seen rearing its
plumed crest against the sky, and in
the valley below it's dark-green leaves
mHlryNttr uNpfIu - rn,ao aa1n1no ryttI
the winding river.
The palm has been called the blessed
tree, for every part of it has its use
fulness to mankind. Certain medici-
ma qualities are claimed for it's roots
and its trunk is 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 center is very porous, increasing 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, fibrous wood some very pref
ty canes are made, which take a most
beautiful polish. The leaves of the
palm grow from the center of the
trunk. first in the form of a delicate
spire shooting up, which, gradually
unfolding itself, forms a new leaf.
These leaves continue to grow from
the center spire to a great length
forming the cluster which, in the case
Of the royal palm, resembles so much
a bunch of mt plumes. The
leaves, when they cannot grow any
more, drop to the ground from the bot.
tom cluster, thus making room for the
new ones which are always coming out
Of the center. The bud or root of the
center spire, from which the leaves
grow, consists Of a tender substance
buried deep down within the cluster o.
green leaves and forms a very palatable
food, either in he raw state or cooked
as a vegetable, or made into a preserve
with sugar.
One of the peculiarities of the roya
palm is the stem of it's long leaves. Il
is a semi-circular stem, which EN-,
braces the trunk of the tree and holdl
the leaf in place until it withers anC
drops to the ground. The stem il
called the "yagua." 1t resembles a THU
board, often as long as a man is tall
and the Cuban insurgent makes it serv
him a variety of purposes. For ex
ample, while / was in the field it fire
quently served me as a plate by sim
ply cutting off a section of it. BY soak
ing in water 1t Is rendered pliable, s,
that it may be folded almost as readil,
as a piece of stiff paper. Thus ~softened
1t is folded at the ends something af
ter the fashion Of a bakers paper hat
and fastened with wooden pins. In thi
shape it is called a "catarro," an,
serves the Cuban farmer as water buck
ct, or a wash basin, or a receptacle TO
milk, lard, cheese, eggs, or whenever
receptacle Of any kind may be needed
l have seen a group of rebels using
"yagua' thus folded as a kettle il
which to cook their breakfast of bee
and yams. The water kept the fbrou,
wood from burning, and l was assured
that the food thus cooked required III
salt other than that which was extract
ed from the "yagua' in the process o
cooking.