The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-07-26

one of the Opposite Ser.
 Among the wonders of Washington. and they are numberless, there prob ably is not to be found to-day anything more remarkable than specimen of plant life now in the possession of the department of agriculture and basking in the grateful warmth of one of the greenhouses of the department on the Mall. This rare and almost priceless curiosity is none other than the famous kissing palm,'' or as scientifically designated, the Palmetto Csculari, and heretofore believed by many to eX- ist only as am yth. That such belief should obtain, however, is not to be wondered at when the marvellous nature of the botanical specimen is considered and it's extreme rarity taken into ac- count.
 The palm derives its name and its sci- entific value from it's wonderful intiu- ence over all persons who come within a given radius of it. This influence, as powerful as the strongest magnet, in- sinuating as a perfume, and as subtle as the very ether, is exerted upon any and all and finds expression in an 1r- resistible impulse to indulge in kissing, and only by fleeing the presence of the plant can the influence be thrown off. Young men and women, staid middle aged persons, prosaic married couples and aged people while in the presence of the palm, have found themselves en- Enthusiastically, rapturously, ecstatically kissing their companion of the opposite sex, and receiving in return lip imprints none the less saccharmely blissful.
 Many of these persons, entirely un- aware of the influence eXerted upon them, have marveled greatly at their unaccustomed actions when once away from the plant, but in many cases has the power of the palm been such that they have found themselves uncon- sciously straying back to it's vicinity only to find themselves enjoying the osculatory delights with the same aban- don as before.
 In a number of cases, where there have been several in the party, man or woman of especially ardent nature has been known to not confine the lip tribute to any one member of the party but to favor all of the opposite sex One man. it is said, was so far carried away by the influence as to kiss his mother -in-law, and she, stranger still. returned the salute with a wild ferver that fairly took his breath. This, how- ever, is said to be a most unusual case and the only one so far recorded locally, and 1t is only mentioned now to show the wonderful power of the Palmetto oscular"
 Young couples who, because of timid- ity or diffidence, have found 1t inpossi- hle to gratify their wish to break away from the formal MT" and Miss" in their remarks addressed to each other, have suddenly discovered themselves saying George and Jessie" or Mary and John" quite naturally this during what little time and what little breath they found themselves pos sessed of between salutes of an oscula- tory nature. Among those who have been found returning to the palm most frequently and whose visits are longest are couples of this class, and it is said the reserve that before stood as a bar rier between them and acted as a mini mixing factor in their joys never re- turns. How many engagements and marriages have resulted because of proximity to the plant will never be known, but the number must be a good ly one
 Married people, who have come to look at matters in a less sentimental and more practical light than in their earlier years, have had recalled the joys of courtship and the honeymoon, and, through this reminder of that happy period, with the love-f1ame alight once again, have gone forth from the warmth of the palm house into the bright sunshine of a better, happier marital existence. Those with hair whitened by the frosts of many winte. S who have chanced near the plant, have found it's influence just as potent for them, and at least one breach of prom ise suit of the May and December va riety can be directly traced to the oc- cult influence of the kissing palm '' Now that the facts are known, it is quite possible that testimony as to the plant will be introduced as evidence, and if such is done it will, no doubt re- suit in bringing out much that will be of interest and of real scientific value, concerning this remarkable and hither- to little known botanical specimen.
 The extraordinary character of the palm is only equaled by it's scarcity It could almost be said to be extinct were it not for the fact that at no time in the worlds history has it been other than very rare, and perhaps to- day the number of kissing palms" in growth is no smaller than for centuries The existence of the plant has long been a matter of dispute among b0tanists No less an authority than Humboldt de- clared it as his belief that the kissing plant was fabulous. Bonpland alsc shared this belief, and indulged in bit ter controversy with Baudiern, whc claimed to have seen a specimen of the palm in the South Sea Islands, and there to have come under it's influence to the extent that he was unable to re- frain from embracing and kissing two anything but attractive native womer standing near.
 The writer, Giraldus Cambrensis, his. torian, antiquary, philosopher, theolog- ian and poet, is said to have written a lengthy treatise on the plant, in whick he traced the origin of kissing to it According to Cambrensis. the custom prevailed originally only in a small isl and in rpilooanu I,,o ryae+ fy,,o,