10 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



young banyan thriving luxuriantly upon it within thirty 

 yards of the spot where we were seated. There was yet 

 another growing high and dry in a crevice formed by a 

 crack in the coping of the wall in that part of the 

 Garden. It is perhaps not generally known that certain 

 birds are very fond of the fruits of these trees, and eat 

 them greedily, and often drop the seeds in cracks of 

 buildings and in the fissures of trees, where they vegetate. 

 The banyan is a common tree in India, planted everywhere 

 for its cool grateful shade. The flowers, which appear 

 in summer, are enclosed in an excavated fleshy recept- 

 acle. Some of our common fruit trees, such as the 

 Dumar (Ficus carica\ Kanthal (Artocarpus integri- 

 folia\ and Tut (Morus alba) belong to the same family 

 as the banyan. 



As other interesting and instructive objects awai- 

 ted our visit, we dropped the subject of the banyan and 

 proceeded towards that part of the Garden where the 

 palmetum lay. On our way, and close to the Banyan 

 tree, stood the monument of Roxburgh, the famous 

 botanist, to whose long and loving labours the cause of 

 Indian Botany is vastly indebted. It is a stone cylinder 

 under a canopy, and bears an inscription. 



IN THE PALM GROVE. 



We were now in the midst of a lovely scene ; the early 

 sunshine of spring had thrown a cheerful glow over the 

 shining ample foliage of the palms which grew luxuriant- 

 ly on every side ; a broad gravel path, fringed with orna- 



