340 Botanical Society of Edinburgh, 



standing out in marked and vivid relief npon the fantastic terraces 

 and mural clilFs of the surrounding rocks ; and consisting of a certain 

 intermixture of temperate with tropical genera, the predominating 

 genera behig tropical. 



The vegetation is not distributed in equal parallel lines as regards 

 altitude, except when regarded en masse, as I frequently found spe- 

 cies of genera whose proper habitat was on the hill portions of the 

 district, spreading, extending, and flourishing in the plains during 

 the cold season — the plains being at this season cooled down to a 

 temperature in which they could exist ; while again, during the hot 

 season I observed plants whose proper habitat was in the plains, 

 spreading, and diverging into the hill districts. It is probable also 

 that species of tropical hill genera reach not only a much higher 

 altitude, but likewise a much higher latitude, than their represen- 

 tatives on the plains, owing to the less extensive range of the ther- 

 mometer, greater amount of moisture, and less free radiation, which 

 they possess in their more elevated position. 



At the base of the hills, as at that of almost all the other moun- 

 tains in India, the ground is covered with jungle, at first thin and 

 open, and then becoming marginal, and well-nigh impervious, con- 

 sisting of shrubs, trees, and high grasses, intermixed with an immense 

 quantity of miscellaneous underwood. The amount of carbonic acid 

 exhaled in the jungle during darkness is enormous ; this amount is 

 fostered by the rank and luxuriant vegetation, and by the older vege- 

 tation in progress of decay ; but fevers are not so prevalent among 

 the inhabitants in this as in other jungle districts, and the approach 

 to the hills is at all times safe, owing to the jungle being cleared in the 

 neighbourhood of the roads. In some parts, at a distance from the 

 roads, it grows, however, so thick, and so thoroughly interwoven with 

 enormous creepers and thorny parasites, as to be rendered perfectly 

 impenetrable. Among the jungle trees, I observed as typical of this 

 district the occurrence of Grewia Asiatica, Combretum ovalifoliumy 

 Nauclea Cadamba, Carissa Carandas, Grislea tomentosa, and also of 

 several species of Celastrus, Zizyphus, Cordia, and Stercidia. 



When mentioning the occurrence of the Stercidiacecu, I may state 

 that in the Province of the Concan I had an opportunity of examining 

 that rare tree, the Adansonia digitata, with its immense stem, large 

 flower, and enormous fruit. There is every reason to believe, as 

 Roxburgh has shown, that this tree, although indigenous in Africa, 

 is yet an exotic an India. It is one of the largest trees in the world, 

 and is supposed to exceed any other in longevity. In several specimens 

 which I examined, I never could find the occurrence of any such 

 annular rings as would be necessary to prove the very great longevity 

 generally attributed to this tree. Professor Lindley has in a most 

 excellent manner shown the true value of calculations regarding the 

 age of this tree. The natives use the pulp of the fruit, which affords 

 a pleasant acid, as a medicine, and as the basis of a sort of sherbet, 

 very grateful to patients suffering from febrile complaints. The young 

 leaves are eaten as food, and the fibres of the wood are put to a 

 variety of useful purposes. 

 'f< The humid vapoury atmosphere which pervades the jungle shades, 



