THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 



by the solitude that reigns all around in perfect si- 

 lence ; only now and then some aquatic animal utters 

 a low cry as it throws itself upon the shore, or a lonely 

 heron, perched upon a half-submerged rock, exults as 

 he swoops down furiously upon his prey. 



Among the screw-pines we must notice one spe- 

 cies much prized by the inhabitants of Oceanica, who 

 weave beautiful mats with its leaves. It is called 

 the sweet-scented Paiidanus (P. odoratissimus), from 

 the circumstance that its flowers exhale an odor at 

 once sweet and strong, which perfumes the whole 

 neighborhood. Another screw-pine, more extraor- 

 dinary still, if we are to believe De Candolle, has a 

 flower which in opening emits a flash of light accom- 

 panied by sound. 



In Madagascar is found the Pandanus muricatus ; 

 but we look in vain in this island for the beautiful 

 trees which adorn the virgin forests of Sumatra, of 

 Borneo, or even America. Yet the useful screw- 

 pines overrun the low reaches of the coast. They 

 are of a singular form, full of grace, and yet mournful. 

 The trunk, covered with a smooth bark, divides at 

 the height of about six feet into three branches of equal 

 size. Each branch divided again into three others, 

 forms thus at the summit a crown of the finest foliage. 

 The entire height never exceeds thirty feet. 



THE CACTUS. THE GIANT CANDLE. 



In America, from the Mississippi to the shores of 

 the Pacific, in the state of Sonora, and in Southern 

 California, the traveller meets with the gigantic candle- 



