THE BAOBAB TEEE. 



163 



" No external injury, not even a fire, can destroy this tree 

 from without, nor can any injury be done from within, as it 

 is quite common to find it hollow, and I have seen one in 



FIG. 20. THE BAOBAB TREE. 



which twenty or thirty men could lie down and sleep as in 

 a hut. Nor does cutting down exterminate it, for I saw 

 instances in Angola in which it continued to grow in length, 

 after it was lying on the ground. Those trees, called 

 exogenous grow by means of successive layers on the 

 outside ; the inside may be dead, or even removed alto- 

 gether, without affecting the life of the tree ; this is the case 

 with most of the trees of our climate. The other class is- 

 called endogenous, and increases by layers applied to the 

 inside, and when the hollow of the tree is full, the growth is 

 stopped, and the tree must die. Any injury is felt most 



M 2 



