174 DR FRANCIS HAMILTON on the Plants of India, 



climbers, form a mat which becomes almost impenetrable. This 

 thick vegetation produces a delightful coolness, and preserves a 

 moisture that encourages the growth of numerous and beautiful 

 parasitical plants, Filices, Aroideae and Orchideae ; but renders the 

 climate rather sickly to constitutions unaccustomed to such a 

 moisture. In this fine region, the valleys between the hills are 

 uncommonly fertile, and, being well watered, produce abundant 

 crops of rice, the grand source of nourishment for the inhabi- 

 tants, although the tuberous Aroideas and Dioscoreas, both very 

 nutritious, may be considered as the proper offspring of this ter- 

 ritory, where they thrive with an uncommon vigour and variety. 

 In this country, even the unoccupied wastes have a luxuriance 

 of vegetation, that renders them almost equally impervious with 

 the forests ; and grasses, mostly of the genus Saccharum, shoot up 

 with a prodigious luxuriance and thickness. They generally 

 exceed six feet in height, and often reach to twice that ele- 

 vation. 



The trees that are most common in this territory, are of the 

 orders of Urticae, Euphorbias, Terebinthaceag, Magnolias, Meliae, 

 Guttiferae, Sapotee, Vitices, and Eleagni, and, together with the 

 Palmae, Bambusae and climbers, form the great features of vege- 

 tation, which are of a totally exotic appearance to the European, 

 having scarcely any thing to recall the memory of his native 

 scenery ; yet still highly pleasing, not only from their novelty, but 

 also from their beauty and grandeur. Notwithstanding this great 

 difference of general appearance, several of the trees have an affi- 

 nity with those of Europe, and the woods contain an JEsculus, 

 and several Querci and Coniferi. 



The specimens which I collected during this journey were 

 transmitted to Sir JOSEPH BANKS, in whose collection I saw 

 them in the year 1806, and there they no doubt will still be 

 found. 



