476 Voyage of the Novara. 



about in flights of incredible numbers, and stretch out hke 

 clouds. Long rows of flamingoes stand, their bodies half bent 

 to the earth, seeking their food in the mud ; far as the eye can 

 reach, one saw whole ranks of these birds blending with storks, 

 perched upon scattered stumps ; while in the water itself, vast 

 flocks of sea-mews swam about, and the sea-swallows, in pursuit 

 of their prey, flew to and fro in the air. As evening came on, 

 the naturalists of the Novara were sailing as though in a sea of 

 fire. Hundreds of fish, as they sprang out of the water, left a 

 fiery wake behind them, like a rocket, while a flame-coloured 

 ever-widening circle marked the spot at which they struck the 

 water again. Hundreds of various notes of birds, above, near, 

 and round the boat, united with the singular melancholy cry of 

 the jackal, which resounded from the shore, while overhead 

 flights of birds flew restlessly about in the air, whirring in the 

 ear like the rustling of disembodied spirits. 



From the lake, a short excursion was made to one of the 

 artificial canals, which unite this basin of water at various 

 points and in different directions with the surrounding country, 

 so as to get to the Strihoricotta Forest, which supplies Madras 

 with fuel. This consists of a sort of underwood or brush, 

 which grows again within the extraordinary short space of 

 ten to twelve years. Sisyphus vulgaris (Rhamnea), Gardenia 

 Ficus, tamarinds, and several species of Mimosa, form the prin- 

 cipal part of the forest, which is thickly grown with immense 

 quantities of climbers. The wood is cut by the natives, who 



