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a distance that they may not crush the nut of the olive. The fleshy pulp covering the nut or stone, and containing the oil in its cells, is then put into bags made of rushes, and moderately pressed; and thus is ob- | tained a considerable quantity of a greenish-coloured oil, which, from its superior excellence, is called virgin oil.

The mass remaining after the first pressure is broken to pieces, moistened with water, and returned to the press; it then gives out a quantity of oil, mixed with water, which being left undisturbed, soon separates; and, although inferior to the first, is still fit for the table. The process is again repeated, and an inferior kind is extracted, which is valuable to the soap-boiler, and other manufacturers.

THE WILD PALM-TREE. Ox account of its great use to mankind, the family of the Palms stands in the first rank among the productions of the vegetable kingdom, and ought, more than most others, to excite the interest of naturalists; but, unfortunately, it is one of those which have been least noticed by travellers. Whether the difficulty of finding the different species at the same time in blossom, and bearing fruit, is the cause of this want of information, or whether it arises from the great height of the Palms preventing their easy examination, still the result is, that, in most collections, the fruit is preserved without a knowledge of the blossom, or the flowers without the fruit.

The Palms are peculiar to the warmer regions of the globe, and the name Palma has been given to these productions of the vegetable world, from the supposed resemblance of their broad leaves to the human hand, palma being the Latin word for a hand. On the same account, the Date, which is the fruit

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of a species of Palm, is called dactylus, a finger, not so much from its form, as from the mode in which it grows in clusters, spreading out like the fingers of the hand.

These trees are of the utmost importance to the inhabitants of the tropical regions; the fruit and sap providing them with food, the fibrous part of their structure with clothing, and the leaves forming the greatest part of their slightly-constructed huts. After enumerating some of the uses to which they are applied, a French naturalist says, "Besides these principal advantages, they bestow many secondary benefits, which deserve notice; the leaves of some kinds are formed into fans, parasols, and hats; others again are written on, in the same manner as we write on paper, with a metal style; artificial flowers are formed out of the pith of some; the light and supple rattan-cane is the slender shoot of another species, and solid and useful goblets are made from the shell of the cocoanut, which the most refined luxury does not despise."

The Palm is a most graceful plant, and, in the figurative language of Scripture, its name is frequently employed to express beauty and elegance. The growth of the Palm is extremely singular; for, although some species attain the height of the largest forest-trees, their structure differs materially from that of a tree, properly so called. The leaves of the young plant arise immediately from the surface of the ground, and it is not until after the lapse of several years, that there is any appearance of stem, and this stem, when once formed, never increases in size, the growth of the plant being always upward, so that the stem itself is formed by the former growth of the green portions of the Palm; and as we can judge the age of a tree by the circles visible in a section of

its trunk, so the number of years a Palm has existed, is known by the scars left by the falling off of its annual circle of leaves.

A wild Palm-tree, near Mount Sinai, is described in Laborde's splendid work on Arabia Petræa. Speaking of this interesting object, he says, "What appeared to me most worthy of notice was a Palmtree in its natural state, which we found above Ouadi Seleh. The Palm-tree is always represented with its summit pointed, its leaves bent back and spreading over its head, from whence gracefully hang dates as bright as coral; and we never imagine that all this elegance is produced by art, and that nature, less refined, has only attended to its preservation. Before us we saw the Palm-tree as it had grown for many a year, forming a rampart of its perishing leaves, and again coming to life, as it were, in the midst of its wreck. Neglected by the Arab of the desert, who considers all attempts at cultivation beneath his dignity, the Palm-tree, at times, forms impenetrable forests; more frequently, however, it is found isolated near a fountain. It presents itself to the thirsty traveller like a friendly lighthouse, pointing out to him the spot where water is to be found to quench his thirst, and a charitable shade in which to repose."

THE DATE.

THIS majestic tree is at times as much as sixty feet in height. Its stem is straight and cylindrical, and covered, particularly near its summit, with numerous prominences like thick scales, which formed the foot-stalks of the leaves of former years. For the first four or five years of its growth, its crest is not elevated above the ground; and during this period it consists of numerous leaves all springing from a

common centre, resembling a large and thick bulb of a roundish or oval form, which is renewed every year, enlarged in size, and yielding annually an increasing number of leaves. When this button has attained the size of the future stem of the tree, it gradually rises from the earth, and the commencement of the trunk is seen, symmetrically formed by the remaining stems of the former leaves; it is by taking advantage of these sharp prominences that the cultivators are enabled to climb the slender trunk, for the purpose of gathering the dates. A grove of date-trees, when full grown, has the appearance of numerous elegant columns, each crowned with a verdant capital, with shafts beautifully wrought. The leaves on the summit, which are from ten to twelve feet in length, bend gracefully back, and form a kind of canopy. The leaf of the date-tree is compound; that is, formed of numerous smaller leaves, attached to one stem.

The date-trees are distinguished as male and female, one plant bearing the fruit, and another the blossoms; a mode of growth, of which we have an instance in the common hemp. The fruit of the date varies considerably according to the mode in which it is cultivated, in form, size, and flavour. There are as many as twenty or five-and-twenty varieties, and in some kinds, which are very large and finely flavoured, the stone of the fruit is completely obliterated, in the same manner as the pips are wanting in the St. Michael oranges.

The date, which is a native of Asia and Africa, is found in moist sandy soils. It has been naturalized in Spain, and some are found even in the south of France.

A forest of date-trees presents a very singular sight to an European traveller; in some parts of Barbary they are as much as two leagues in

extent, and their verdant crests touching each other, produce the appearance of an immense natural temple, whose silence is only interrupted by the concert of numerous birds, the only inhabitants of these solitary places. Though the country is covered with masses of barren sand, the ground beneath the shelter of these grandees of the desert is covered with flowers of every hue, while the stems of the trees themselves are festooned with numerous beautiful climbing plants.

extremely curious and picturesque, and is to be accounted for from the construction of the seed, which is like that of the thistle, winged, or capable of being borne along by the action of the air, and in that manner deposited in holes and fissures in the rocks, where it speedily vegetates and springs up. As long as the plant remains young, the place in which it is found is sufficiently large for its growth, but as it increases in size, the roots gradually but irresistibly force asunder the walls of their rocky prisons, and throw off large portions of stone, thus by degrees penetrating into the very heart of the rock. It is not always, however, found in these situations, the largest timber being produced in some of the flat and marshy spots on the coasts of America; of this description is that known by the name of Honduras Mahogany, which is much looser in texture and of less value than that from the mountainous districts of Cuba and Hayti. This last kind is known in commerce as Spanish Mahogany, and is chiefly purchased for the purpose of being cut into veneers. The introduction of this Each date-tree while in a healthy wood into England took place about state can produce annually from the end of the seventeenth century, ten to a dozen bunches, each weigh-in the following manner. ing from twenty to five-and-twenty pounds. The best and most esteemed fruits have a firm texture, and are of a yellowish colour. These fruits, when fresh, have a delicious flavour and smell; they are sweet, wholesome, very nourishing, and require no preparation.

The Arabs sow the nuts at the commencement of the spring, but they more commonly propagate the plant by means of suckers, which must be frequently watered, and protected from the heat of the sun until they have struck; the last method of multiplying them is by far the readiest, and offers the advantages of selecting only female plants, as these alone bear the fruit, but it is necessary to place a few male plants here and there. Dates produced by cuttings, will bear fruit in five or six years, while those from the seed require fifteen or twenty years.

THE MAHOGANY TREE Is one of the most elegant, if not the largest, of the country in which it is found, and frequently grows in the crevices of rocks, and other places of the same description. The appearance of so large a vegetable production in such a situation is

A London physician of the name of Gibbons, had a brother the captain of a West India ship. On his return to England, he had several logs of mahogany on board his vessel for the purpose of ballast, and as his brother was at the time employed in a building project, he made him a present of the wood, supposing it might be useful; his carpenter, however, cast it on one side, observing that it was of too hard a nature to be worked. Some time after, Mrs. Gibbons being in want of a box to hold candles, the cabinet-maker was directed to make it of this same wood; he, in his turn, made the same objection as the car

penter, and declared that it spoilt of Egyptian wheat: if it was hollow and weak like common corn, it would break with the weight; but it is solidly filled with a sort of pith, and thus rendered sufficiently firm.

his tools. Being urged, however, to make another trial, he at length succeeded; and, when the box was polished, the beautiful colour of its grain was so apparent and novel, that it became an object of great curiosity, and attracted the notice, among others, of the Duchess of Buckingham, for whom a bureau was made of the same material. Before this time it had been used partially in the West Indies for ship-building, but this new discovery of its beauty soon brought it into general use in the making of furniture. The chief supply, at the time we are speaking of, came from the Island of Jamaica, and the wood it exported was of the finest description; but since then, the constant demand has nearly exhausted the island, and it is now, as we have already said, chiefly brought from the Spanish Main and several of the larger West India Islands. There is a species of Mahogany which grows in the East Indies, the Swietenia febrifuga, which grows to a much larger size than the American tree, it is also much heavier, but the colour of the wood is of a dirty dark red.

THE SEVEN-EARED WHEAT. WHEAT is raised in most parts of the world; but the above-named species does not thrive in cold climates. It is the kind formerly raised in Egypt and Syria, and is often mentioned in the Bible under the name of corn, which meant then any sort of grain of which bread was made. What the Americans call corn, that is, Indian corn, was not known except to American Indians, till about two hundred years ago. Pharaoh dreamed about the seven-eared corn, and we do not know that the one-eared corn was raised in Egypt. The wisdom of God is strikingly shown in the stalk

THE INDIA-RUBBER TREE Is a large straight tree, growing to the height of fifty or sixty feet; at the upper part sending off numerous branches, covered with rough bark. This tree is a native of South America, growing abundantly in the woods of Guiana, in the province of Quito, and along the borders of the river Amazon, in Mexico.

The singular substance, known by the names of India-rubber, elastic gum, Cayenne resin, and by the French caoutchouc, and which is prepared from the juice of this tree, was little known in Europe till long after the commencement of the last century; and its origin and composition was first learned from M. de la Condamine, an active and enterprising member of the French Academy, who by travelling into the interior parts of South America, had an opportunity of acquiring the necessary information.

The manner of obtaining this juice, is by making cuts through the bark of the lower part of the trunk of the tree, from which the fluid resin issues in great abundance, appearing of a milky whiteness, as it flows into the vessel placed to receive it, but gradually, on exposure to the air, becoming a soft reddish elastic resin. To suit the different purposes for which it is employed in South America,. the caoutchouc is shaped into various forms; but it is commonly brought to Europe in that of pearshaped bottles, which are said to be formed by spreading the juice of the Siphonia over a proper mould of clay, and as soon as one layer is

dry, another is added, till the bottle be of the thickness desired. It is then exposed to a dense smoke until it becomes dry, when by means of certain instruments of iron or wood, it is ornamented on the outside with various figures. The mould is then taken out, being first softened with water. The Chinese elastic resin is said to be prepared of castor oil and lime; or, according to Retzius, it is nothing but a certain expressed oil, evaporated by heat; hence its easy solubility.

ingredient. In the year 1828, no less a quantity than 14,045 tons were imported for these purposes. In medicine, it is known in the form of an extract, and is considered a very good and pleasant astringent.

This tree takes its specific name from the city of Campechy in Mexico, which used formerly to be the only port from which it was obtained. The trade being considered valuable, the possession of this town was the cause of many sanguinary struggles, attended with great loss of life, between the Spaniards and the English. In 1659, it was taken by the English; but in the year 1678, it was attacked and plundered by a party of Pirates, called Buc

The Indians make boats of the caoutchouc: also a kind of cloth, which they use for the same purposes as we use oil-cloth. Flambeaux are likewise made of this resin, which yield a beautiful light, without any disagrecable smell.-caneers, and a similar misfortune WOODVILLE'S Med. Bot.

THE LOGWOOD-TREE.

THIS valuable tree very much resembles, in its general appearance, the white-thorn of Europe, but it far exceeds it in magnitude. The colour of the wood is red, its texture is extremely hard, and it will take a very high degree of polish. It is more known, however, in Europe, from its use in dyeing, and is employed for that purpose to a very great extent, in the production of the commoner kinds of red. The colour obtained from logwood is not, however, considered a very permanent one; and, indeed, so great a prejudice was raised against it in former times, that an act of parliament was passed prohibiting its use, under very severe penalties. But this act has since been repealed, and the great improvements that have of late years taken place in the art of dyeing, have rendered the colour it produced much more permanent than it used to be.

befell it again in 1685. Since then, great quantities have been obtained from other parts of America, and particularly from the island of Jamaica, in the West Indies; indeed, that which comes from the latter place, is at present considered the most valuable.

CORK, AND THE CORK-TREE. THAT most useful substance called Cork, is the thick, spongy, external bark, of a species of oak, the Quercus suber. The tree, of which there are two varieties,-namely, the broad-leaved, and the narrow-leav ed, grows to the height of upwards of thirty feet, and is a native of some of the southern parts of France, of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Barbary; it bears a strong resemblance to the evergreen oak, (Quercus iler,) and attains to a great age. When arrived at a certain state of maturity, it sheds its bark naturally, but the quality of the bark so separated is inferior to that which is obtained by removing Logwood is also consumed in it at a proper period. The true great quantities in the manufacture cork is the produce of the broadof ink, in which it is the principal | leaved tree, and the chief supply

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