406 THE GREAT THIRST LAND. 



and covered with, a velvety surface. It is frequently 

 called the cream of tartar tree, because between the 

 seeds there is a pulpy, crystallised-looking substance, 

 which when soaked in water makes an extremely pleasant 

 acid drink. Persons suffering from fever use it, and 

 I am informed derive great benefit from its gentle 

 purgative qualities. 



The vitality this tree possesses is truly amazing ; you 

 may burn around it, cut the bark through with an axe, 

 and in fact do what you like to it, still it resents all 

 efforts at its destruction. 



Its trunk is very frequently hollow, with an opening 

 on one side ; the interior then becomes a dwelling- 

 place for snakes, scorpions, and centipedes. Its upper 

 branches also are a favourite resting-place for birds, from 

 the giant crane and the crested crane to the sociable 

 grosbeak. Thus these trees are a zoological garden on 

 a small scale. 



The specimen before me measures only eighty feet 

 in circumference a trifle the reader may say but one 

 of the boys informs me through Umganey that he has 

 seen plenty twice as big. In the interior of this one 

 fifty men might have found sleeping space. The big 

 trees of California are rather thrown in the shade by the 

 baobab tree. 



Of lions, as of leopards and zebras, I am certain that 

 there are three distinct species. By asserting this I do 

 not mean to say that the one may not cross or breed 

 with the other. The greyhound or Newfoundland will 

 with the pug or turnspit (wretches which have become 

 fashionable under the name of dachshund, and which 

 a very gullible public have been induced to become 

 purchasers of), yet the cross is a nondescript, and 



