332 Natural Hhtonj of (he Coco-nut Tree, &c. 



of the Jesuits, or in the ruins of the superb goverunicnt- 

 hous,e built by the order ot" Dupleix. 



The coco-nut tree is one of the most beautiful with 

 which we are acquainted, and, under whatever point of view 

 considered, has an agreeable aspect : its great height ; its 

 stem, naturally straight and slender, when it has met witii 

 no accident to render it crooked; its bushy suinntit, crown- 

 ed with palms of a rich green colour, so pleasant to the eve, 

 ornamented with strong stalks, loaded with enormoifs 

 fruit, all form an interesting coup d'cei!. It presents to 

 the traveller a delicious shade, and the assurance of reliev- 

 ing his most urgent wants, at the same time that its foliaae, 

 the pliable alas of which, long and delicate, sport in the 

 gentle zephyrs, recreates his imagination with a thousand 

 agreeable ideas, and makes him bless and admire llie Eternal 

 Power which on his account created so manv wonders. Its 

 propei-ties also useful to the arts, to domestic wants, and 

 the comforts of man, amply indemnify the cultivator for 

 his care, and the proprietor for his expense. One cannot 

 refrain from a certain enthusiasm in speaking of this inte- 

 resting vegetable, one of the inost valuable gifts of Provi- 

 dence, and which aflbrds delight cveu to animals*, 



[To be continued. 2 



LVII, An Account ftf Borneo ; contained iu a Letter from 

 3/r. John Jkssh, to the Court of Directors, front, Borneo 

 Froperi. 



As I am the first servant the Con)pany ever had, or even 

 European, which for a number of years has visited this 



* All animals seek for tiiq shadp of this p^lm. A very prctt)' spar- 

 row of Hindostan, known by its attaclirnent, and by its address in going 

 to find at tlie bottom of a well filled with water, and to bring back any 

 tliing tliat has been thrown into it, constructs the nest which is to icceive 

 arid shelter its young, at the extreniitv of the aire of the fotage of this 

 tice. This nest, interwoven with such art and dexterity, that man mny 

 a.imire but cannot succeed in imitating it, notwithstanding the perfec- 

 tion of his organs, is placed by wonderful foresight at the very extremity 

 of these dl*. Agit;ncd by the lt:ist breeze, like a cradle, tlie winds are 

 not able to detach it, nor to throw out the young. Tins sparrow, bv 

 surprising instinct, suspends its nest in this manner, to secure it, in Al 

 orobability, from the attack of serpents, which cannot ica.-h it in conse- 

 quence of the pliability of the supporters on which it is placed. Bi;r 

 what is more astonishing is the care whieli this bird take* to light its 

 ijest in the night-time, by fixing glow-worms to the iUbide of it, by 

 .Tieans of a tenacious kind of ci ly. 



•*■ From the Asiatic Annual R'-^i.fr for 1802. 



pari 



