1 6 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



in quest of a shady spot. Following one of the narrow 

 gravel paths which branch out from the Casuarina avenue, 

 we came upon a most picturesque part of the Garden. 

 Here, there was no formal path, the one we were hitherto 

 following having abruptly ended at the foot of a knoll 

 on which stood a pretty arbour. Simple narrow foot- 

 paths on the green lawn were visible here and 

 there, but they became indistinct and lost as we 

 advanced. A high and extensive knoll overshadow- 

 ed by a group of beautiful fig trees was chosen as our 

 banqueting place. The scenery here was of remarkable 

 artificial luxuriance and beauty. Around and in front 

 of us the ground rose and sank and rolled along in un? 

 dulations. Noble and stately trees covered the top and 

 slopes of the mounds ; a few of them, such as the 

 Poincianas and others of the same habit, were now bare 

 of leaves ; the rest were clothed in beautiful summer 

 foliage, and some looked gay and bright with blossoms. 

 Far away and in front of us lay the serpentine lake, 

 winding along the border of this artificial forest, and 

 beyond it, a glimpse of the flower garden could be 

 obtained through the colonnaded trunks of trees. 



A grov of four trees may sound insignifi- 

 cant, but in reality it was a magnificent one. It consisted 

 of four trees of a species of fig (Ficus Comasa\ which 

 grows abundantly in Southern and Central India. It 

 has large spreading branches, with slender and pen- 

 dant branchlets ; and as these are much subdivided, a 

 single tree overshadows a very large area. Owing partly to 



