441 



portion to the enormous age assigned to them. But on turning to 

 the narrative of his voyage, prefixed to the ' Natural History of Sene- 

 gal,' p. 66) 1 find that the diameter of the trees is expressly stated to 

 be six feet. The author says that the names were deeply engraved in 

 the bark, and that each person of the party, except himself, added his 

 mark to those previously on the trees, but that he was satisfied with re- 

 newing two of the names which were old enough to be worth the trouble, 

 one of them being dated in the fifteenth the other in the sixteenth 

 century. Then follow the size of the letters, and a brief summary of 

 the same arguments relating to the age of the trees which are after- 

 wards given in detail in the Memoir published by the Academy. But 

 be it observed, that neither in the Narrative nor in the Memoir does 

 Adanson say one word about his having made an incision in the trunk 

 and counted the number of annular layers of wood, in order to deter- 

 mine the age of the tree ; his arguments are founded solely on the ob- 

 served annual rate of increase of young trees in height and diameter, 

 and his data are given by Sir W. J. Hooker, in the ' Botanical Maga- 

 zine,' 2791-92, where the flower, fruit and leaf are beautifully figured. 

 The following remarks by a correspondent of the Bombay Monthly 

 Times bear directly on the questions of the age of the tree and of its 

 native country. 



" I find you make no mention of the Adansonia digitata obtaining great perfec- 

 tion in the ruins of Mandoo and its environs, of which I remember once to have des- 

 canted in our evening conversations; indeed I believe these are the only localities in 

 the upper parts of India, where the ' Khorassan Eemlee ' as it is there called, is to be 

 found in great numbers and of enormous girth. 



" From Nalcha to the Delhi gate of Mandoo, a distance of six miles along the Vin- 

 dyah, the road on either side is lined with the ruins of palaces, mosques and tombs, 

 mingled with innumerable groups of the Adansonia digitata, the same extending in a 

 long avenue from thence to the Jumna Musjid in the centre of the city, from whence 

 they diverge to the royal parks and gardens. 



" The Mahometans fondly treasure this tree as a relic of Moslem sovereignty, be- 

 lieving it to have been brought liy the northern conquerors to embellish their imperial 

 residences in the east ; and moreover, that it languishes and dies in any Indian soil 

 but that favoured as the abode of royalty. Sooner therefore would they lose an arm 

 than a branch from this boasted tree, although its insidious inroads have done more to 

 complete the ruin of Mandoo, than either the hand of time or Rajpoot bigotry ; root- 

 ing itself in every crevice of the walls and roofs, and uptearing with its giant arms 

 enormous masses of masonry. * * That the tree appears to be one 



to which the natives of India seem to attach much importance, is evident from both 

 Hindoos and Mussulmen considering it in a sacred character : this probably proceeds 

 from its prodigious size and comparative scarceness, as it is evident the Mahomedans 

 have no claim to its importation from Khorassan, as I am credibly informed by travel- 

 lers from thence there is scarcely a tree in that region attains a tithe of its size.' 



