The drug which forms the subject of this treatise belongs to the great family Palmaceæ (Palms), a large order, which is preeminent in the whole world of plants for-the grandeur and beauty attained by many of the species. They are mainly tropical, there being but five species in the United States. These range in size from the dwarf palmetto of the sands of the coast, not more than a foot high, to the Royal Palm, found in the depth of the primeval forests of the extreme southern portion of Florida, which towers to the height of two hundred feet.<br><br>No order of plants has been put to greater uses for ornamentation or utility. There is hardly a place in art in which it has not been used. It is actually indispensable to the life of many tribes and nations of human beings. Its members supply food, beverage, shelter and a thousand other means of sustenance and comfort to the inhabitants of nearly every country in the tropics.<br><br>This great family numbers over one hundred species.