440 



We have heard such astounding statements respecting the longe- 

 vity of this tree, that it would not be right to pass over the subject 

 quite without notice. In the Bombay Monthly Times before referred 

 to, are some interesting notes furnished by the Rev. Dr. Wilson, who 

 remarks that — 



" This tree seems to he associated with ahsuvdity among the sages of the West as 

 well as the East. 'The Baobal-tree of Senegal,' says Lyell in his 'Principles of Geo- 

 logy,' ' is supposed to exceed almost any other in longevity; Adanson inferred that one 

 which he measured, and found to he thirty feet in diameter, had attained the age of 

 5160 years. Having made an incision to a certain depth, he first counted tLree hun- 

 dred rings of annual growth, and observed what thickness the tree had gained in that 

 period. The average rate of growth of younger trees, of the same species, was then 

 ascertained, and the calculation made according to a supposed mean rate of increase.' 

 Now, how does the matter stand, with regard to the specimens we have before xis in 

 India ? Dr. Koxburgh tells us that the tree is an exotic in this country — and he is 

 quite correct. It was introduced by the Portuguese from Mozambique within the last 

 three hundred years ; and in many instances it has already attained to a growth ex- 

 ceeding that specified by Adanson and Lyell. Dr. Lindley has shown that what are 

 called the annular [? annual] rings, are not to be depended upon in calculations as to 

 the age of trees ; and that with reference to this very extraordinary species." — Extracts 

 from Notes of a visit to Dwaraka, by the Rev. Dr. Wilson. 



There is no doubt that the Baobab lives to a very great age, as may 

 be inferred from its enormous bulk. Adanson's observations on some 

 trees which he met with in one of the Magdalen islands, led him to 

 the conclusion that they were growing there at the time of the deluge, 

 consequently that they were, at the time he saw them, upwards of Ave 

 thousand years old ! On these trees were carved some European 

 names, some of which were distinctly dated in the fifteenth and sixteenth 

 centuries, others less distinctly bore date in the fourteenth. Acanson 

 thought it probable that the same trees were seen by Thevet when he 

 passed these islands in 1555, on his voyage to the antarctic regions. 

 The letters of the names were six inches high, and the names them- 

 selves occupied a length of about two feet, or somewhat less than the 

 eighth part of the circumference of the trunk. Reasoning from t)ese 

 facts, and from his own observations of the rate of growth o the 

 tree, Adanson arrived at the conclusion above stated, which i? most 

 probably an erroneous one. The same trees were seen by Gaberry, 

 thirty-six years after Adanson was on the island ; he says flat the 

 words of the inscription were Dutch, and that one of the d'-tes was 

 1449. 



When I first read Adanson's account of the Magdalen-island Bao- 

 babs, I could not help suspecting that their size was incorj^ctly given, 

 a circumference of sixteen or eighteen feet appearing to /"ear no pro- 



