72 THE DRAGON TREE. 



And, if I do not fatigue you with qnotations, I should like 

 to repeat some beautiful lines of Moore to his Mother, in which 

 he alludes to the Banyan: 



They tell us of an Indian tree 



Which, howsoe'er the sun and sky 

 May tempt its boughs to wander free, 



And shoot and blossom wide and high, 

 Far better loves to bend its arms 



Downwards again to that dear earth 

 From which the life, that fills and warms 



Its grateful being, first had birth. 

 'Tis thus, though woo'd by flattering friends, 



And fed with fame (if fame it be,) 

 This heart, my own dear mother, bends, 



With love's true instinct, back to ihee! 



MRS. F. 

 Thank you; the simile is beautiful. 



FREDERICK. 



What is this very tall plant? 



That is the Dragon tree (Dracaena draco,) one of the most 

 common of the tropical trees. Its beautiful head of green 

 leaves makes it appear to enjoy a perpetual spring. Among 

 the people of Hawaii or Owyhee, it is the emblem of peace.* 

 The tree attains such an immense size, that fishing boats have 

 been made out of its trunk. | Pigs are fed upon its fruit; but, 

 if you wish to read an interesting account of this tree, I must 

 refer you to Humboldt's " Personal Narrative" for a descrip- 

 tion of the Dragon tree of Orotava. 



FREDERICK. 



Pray, where is Orotava? 



MRS. C. 



It is one of the islands of the Canaries, and on it is a gi- 

 * Beechey's Voyage. t Bowdich's " Madeira." 



