244 IN THE GUIANA FOREST. 



neither are they offshoots from the roots there are 

 neither leaves nor leaf-buds on any one of them. 

 Looking closely, we find that they resemble the 

 aerial roots or branches of figs and Pandanus, but 

 who ever heard of these growing upwards ? These 

 latter are props and buttresses to keep the trees 

 straight and prevent their falling ; is it possible 

 that those beneath our feet are also intended to 

 help the courida in a similar way ? How absurd it 

 appears as the thought flashes through our mind ! 

 We smile at the idea of a prop rising into the air 

 with nothing to arrest its progress or serve as a 

 point d'appui. Then, again, all these pegs are on 

 about the same level, and rise but a few inches 

 above the surface. Yet they may be considered 

 from one standpoint as only buttresses of a more 

 perfect type than those of the mangrove. 



How can we prove this ? Not by remaining in 

 the depths of this great plantation, but by walking 

 along the shore when the tide is low. In many 

 places this is virtually impossible on account of the 

 ooze, but here and there the stronger currents 

 deposit banks of sand, on which we can walk with- 

 out difficulty. Now we can see exactly how the 

 roots of the courida are matted and interlaced one 

 with another, and what a revelation it is ! What a 

 perfect breakwater this is a fascine dam which 



