670 



liere they were intermingled with abundance of Seaforthia elegans, a noble, feather- 

 leaved palm, forty feet in height. The small palm already noticed was also here, and 

 a tall Cyperaceous ? plant, growing into the trees, and again bending toward the 

 ground, with a stem as thick as a ratan. One of the parasitical figs had sent a root 

 down from a lofty bough, remote from the trunk, and the root, which must have swung 

 like a rope, had a diagonal direction, and was adhering at its lower extremity to the 

 foster tree ! Some Casuarinae were encircled by masses of Acrostichum alcicorne. 

 This fern retains much moisture in its dead sterile fronds, which fonn large scales, ris- 

 ing one over another, it generally grows on the upper portion of the trunks of the Ca- 

 suarinae, and in stormy weather, they are sometimes thrown down by the weight of 

 water and vegetable matter, thus accumulated about them. Many thus circumstanced 

 were lying in the forest, having a profusion also of Davallia pyxidata growing out of 

 the masses of Acrostichum alcicorne. Other trees, ferns, and flowering plants, were 

 here in great variety. 



"Whilst admiring the rich profusion of the vegetable productions, and conversing 

 with some wood-cutters, I insensibly got turned round, and toward evening, on refer- 

 ring to my compass, found myself making rapid progress in a direction opposite to the 

 one I ought to have pursued. What gave to this place the name of Tacking Point I 

 know not, but its name harmonized with my present circumstances ; and to use a sea 

 phrase, I ' tacked ' without delay, being desirous to escape from the dense forest before 

 sun-set. 



" I had become hungry, and looked longingly to the tops of the majestic palms, 

 without the hope of reaching one of them ; but at length, I came to one, which, from 

 some accident, had turned its head downward, so that it seemed to be put exactly into 

 my path. I cut it off", stripped away the base of the leaves, to the tender heart, and 

 went along, enjoying my grateful meal, thankful to Him who had brought me and 

 the crooked palm, as by accident, into contact. The supply was so ample, that when 

 I reached my friends at the Lake Cottage, after a toilsome journey through the marsh, 

 in the dark, I had a piece, as thick as my wrist, and a foot and a half long, under my 

 arm, reserved for supper, in case I should have found it impracticable to reach my 

 quarters, and have been under the necessity of remaining under the bushes of the sand 

 hills, on the coast, during the night. 



" Among the sedgy plants in the margin of Lake Innis, there is a large species of 

 Eriocaulon. Several other species of this genus occur in N. S. Wales, and one in the 

 west of Scotland,* but its maximum is in America. Plants are subject to a remarka- 

 ble geographical distribution, which it is very interesting to trace out. The remark- 

 able section of the genus Acrostichum, which includes A. grande and A. alcicorne, has 

 at least one species in India, and another in Western Africa. A. grande grows to a 

 large size, on trees bordering on Lake Innis. One measured, had the upper or barren 

 fronds three feet across, and as much in height. There were two mature barren fronds, 

 that had strong black nerves, and the same number of fertile ones. From the opposite 

 extremities of the appendages of the latter, the measurement was seven feet. Some 

 of these appendages were of ten ribbon-like divisions, many of which were bifid. The 

 central portion might be compared to a jockey's saddle, attached by the pummel. 



* Eriocaulon septangulare, found in the lakes and pools of Skye and some of the 

 neighbouring islands ; and in Cunnamara, Ireland. — Ed. 



