FAMOUS AND INTERESTING TREES 



BY JAMES RIC ALTON 



(WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR) 



THE BANYAN TREE 



THE banyan tree (Ficus religioso or Ficus Indica) in its 

 scientific name signifies sacred fig or Indian fig. It is 

 known most widely on account of the peculiar form of 

 its growth, its multiple trunks extending latterly until it 

 covers great areas of ground. Unlike other trees, it not only 

 sends out roots from roots, but roots are sent out from the 

 branches downward until they reach the ground. These aerial 

 roots become trunks and send out lateral branches and this pro- 

 gression is continued for almost endless periods of time. 



This ever-continuing renewal of trunk brings a constant supply 

 of fresh young sap and nutriment to all parts of the tree. On 

 account of this unending reproduction of itself, the tree is exempt 

 from decay, and its duration may be counted in milleniums. Ex- 

 tending its branches outward and not upward, it is not a high 

 tree, yet it is a forest in itself, the haunt of birds and monkeys, 

 who feed on its fruit, a sort of small bastard red fig the size 

 of a cherry. 



The rays of the tropical sun cannot penetrate its thick foliage. 

 Fakirs and anchorets often seek religious solitude in its deep and 

 grateful shade. Temples and pagodas are built in the neighbor- 

 hood of this sacred tree. 



A remarkable tree of this kind is to be seen on a small island 

 in the Nurbudda River in Western India ; even after much of it 



'has been washed away by river torrents it still measures 2000 

 feet in the circumference of its manifold trunks. 



An army of 7000 soldiers has encamped under it. It has 

 350 large trunks and 3000 smaller ones. Solemn festivals are 

 held under it when thousands of votaries gather from every part 

 of the vast empire. English gentlemen often camp for weeks 

 under this delightful pavilion. At times when not inhabited by 

 human devotees it is the rendezvous of peacocks, wood-ipigeons, 

 and multitudes of feathered songsters, and families of monkeys, 

 also flying-foxes or bats that measure six feet from tip to tip. 

 This wonderful arboreal growth not only furnishes shelter but 

 sustenance to these denizens of the jungle. Another great banyan 

 tree claiming a world reoord for size, may be seen in the botanical 

 gardens at Calcutta. It has a central trunk over 50 feet in cir- 

 cumference and about 200 progressive trunks. The ground 

 beneath is kept clean, and its umbrageous shelter is a halting 

 place for visitors and a paradise for picnicers. 



The Hindus have a great reverence for the banyan tree, and 

 because of its long endurance, its outstretched arms, its over- 

 shadowing beneficence, it is regarded as a symbol of the Deity. 

 Seated under the wide-spreading canopy of this marvelous tree 

 one can look in every direotion through vistas of graceful trunks 

 and contemplate nature's vegetable plan of endless renewals and 

 eternal youth. 



OLIVE TREES IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 



It is claimed that these are descendents of the very trees under which Christ walked and that they are close to the spot where Judas gave 



Christ the kiss of betrayal. 



ill 



