36 FLORA OF THE 



and in Etawah I had three large trees of it in my 

 compound.^ Mr. Thomas Harris, of the Educational 

 Department of Ajmere, informs me that the Baobab in 

 the North-West Provinces is called Anjdn Rook, which 

 means the nnkjiozvu tree, and would of course indicate 

 that it has been introduced, and has no indigenous 

 name. 



In Assyrian times there was great commercial activity 

 between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf Their 

 ivory, and many other products, must have come from 

 the Soudan, through the Red Sea route. The seed 

 of the Baobab is enclosed in a hard shell, which 

 may be carried long distances without injury to its 

 germinating power. As there was commercial activity 

 between the two countries, it is nothing preposterous 

 to suppose that the seed of so striking a tree would 

 have found its way to Persia and Assyria. 



Of the Adausonia, Bentham and Hooker, in their 

 ' Genera Plantarum,' say : " Species 2, altera Africana, 

 in Asia tropica occidentali sat frequens, sed forte culta ; 

 altera Australiensis." ^ 



So that there is great probability that the Baobab 

 tree was known to the Assyrians. The very fact that 

 only two specimens are delineated by the artist close 

 to each other on the Monuments would show that this 



' In Miss North's Gallery, Royal Gardens, Kew (No. 262), is a ' Boabab ' 

 tree from Tanjore, with wavy branches. See Guide to Miss North's Gallery. 

 ■* A third species is said to belong to Madagascar. 



