23 



tangle of bamboos which ascend high into the trees hang- 

 ing in graceful festoons from one giant tree to the other. 



Having passed this wood we get to thin brushwood and 

 after having got a little higher we are against the mountain- 

 range that carries the Auracarias. 



At first we meet a single tree but gradually they be- 

 come more and more numerous and the higher we climb, 

 the finer the trees become. 



At last when I reach the top of the range we are in 

 the midst of the Auracarias. Some small shrubs grow at 

 their feet but there are no other trees. 



I look at my watch; we have just ridden 5 hours. 



The trees must be extremely old, some of them have 

 a girth of ± 10 feet but are not very high. The old 

 trees have branches only at the top forming an enormous 

 parasol. The stems are covered by big black scales like 

 the skin of a crocodile magnified. 



The upper part of the stem and the oldest branches are 

 mostly covered by a long white Lichen which hangs in 

 clusters downwards. In some, the upperbranches look very 

 stiff and rigid, in others they are longer and softer looking 

 and hang lower down. 



In some the stem has formed a side crown about half 

 way to the top. 



The trees grow in groups among the rocks and the best 

 ones are on the top of the hills. The whole aspect of the 

 forest is most ancient and extraordinary and if one should 

 meet a Mastodont amongst those weirdlooking trees one 

 would not be surprised ! 



The trees are either male or female which is visible by 

 the flowers or cones but there is no difference in the shape 

 of the male or female trees. 



Some of the female trees carry ripe cones full of seeds. 

 As it was impossible to climb the savageprickly branches 

 my guide threw stones against some of the ripe cones 

 which fell to pieces as soon as they were touched in the 

 same way as the ripe cones of the silver fir do, scattering 

 the seeds and the scales on the ground. 



Notes from the Leydon Museum, Vol. XXX.V. 



