The palm whose seeds are used instead of ivory for a variety of small carved articles is a native of Central America and New Grenada. The consumption of them in this country, as well as in France and other parts of the Continent, is now believed to be enormous. The imports into Britain are stated to be worth £100,000 a year, and Birmingham is said to consume as much as a ton weight in a single day. The necessary result is that an eager demand has sprung up for new sources of supply of a similar material. The true vegetable-ivory palm being limited to a restricted district of the new world is not available elsewhere. But other hard-seeded palms will doubtless be tried, and the following have already come under our notice: