102 THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 



that build them are nearly the size of ostriches and 

 thus correspond well with the giant tree that affords 

 them shelter. The height of the baobab is, however, 

 not in proportion to its circumference, as may be seen 

 by oui* illustration. 



It would take fifteen men with their arms extend- 

 ed to embrace the trunk of one of these great trees, 

 which, in the countries through which the Senegal 

 flows, are venerated as sacred monuments. Enor- 

 mous branches are given off from the central stem a 

 few feet above the ground and spread out horizon- 

 tally, giving the tree a diameter of over 100 feet. 

 " Each of these branches," says M. Danton, " would be 

 a monstrous tree elsewhere ; and, taken together, they 

 seem to make up a forest rather than a tree." 



It is only at the age of 800 years that the baobabs 

 attain their full size and then cease to grow. 



The fruit of this tree is oblong ; the color of the 

 shell passes in ripening from green to yellow and 

 brown. The fruit has been named "monkey bread." 

 It contains a spongy substance, paler than chocolate 

 and filled with abundant juice. 



The bark is ashy-gray in color, and almost an inch 

 in thickness. The negroes of the Senegal grind it 

 down to powder, and in this state they use it to season 

 their food and to maintain a moderately free perspi- 

 ration, which enables them the more easily to with- 

 stand the excessive heat. It serves also as an anti- 

 dote for certain fevers. 



In Abyssinia bees choose baobab-trees for their 

 hives, and their honey derives from the tree a perfume 



