164 THE GREAT PRIMEVAL FOREST. 



many of which have evidently been selected because 

 special circumstances seemed to favour the efforts of 

 the human settlers, such as the sandy, rocky, or otherwise 

 sterile nature of the soil ; or the existence of dry districts 

 which, owing to these and other local causes, sometimes 

 occur within the equatorial zone. 



In saying so, it must be understood, however, that 

 we speak in general terms of this great region as a 

 whole; we are quite aware that numerous instances 

 might be mentioned where the forests are cleared away 

 and flourishing settlements are well known to occur, 

 as for example in Ceylon and other places ; but our 

 business is rather to describe the equatorial zone as 

 it generally exists, under its natural aspects, throughout 

 by far the largest portion of its area namely, that of 

 a great region of primeval forests. 



If we take the map, and run our eye over the 

 equatorial regions, and think of the conditions of the 

 countries traversed by the equator, we shall find that 

 this description of it is, in the main, substantially 

 correct. 



The principal portion of its terrestrial surface, as 

 will be seen, lies in Africa and South America. In 

 Africa, so far as is known, over by far the greater 

 part of this area the primeval forest extends almost 

 from sea to sea. Where exceptions to this rule are 

 found to occur, they can in all probability be traced 

 to peculiarities of soil, or to a great elevation of the 

 land above sea-level : the more luxuriant and heavier 

 forest growths usually existing on the western half 

 of the continent; and the more open and dwarfer 

 forest upon its eastern side while so far as human 

 progress is concerned, practically nothing has been 



