312 POPULAR GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



see on leaving South America, so, after we have crossed the 

 Atlantic, are they the first we behold on the coast of Africa ; 

 and still, as we sail up an African river, we have Mangroves 

 for some distance along the shores. Here, instead of seeing 

 everything burnt and dried up by the excessive heat, we are 

 agreeably surprised by the sight of beautiful green savan- 

 nahs bordering the river, and interspersed with clumps of 

 trees. 



We are soon reminded on what quarter of the globe we 

 have set our feet, for as our eyes wander over the grassy 

 plain we observe in the distance something like a dark 

 cloud gradually crossing it, and drawing nearer and nearer, 

 and we experience quite a novel sensation on discovering 

 that this cloud, when we see it closer, is nothing more or 

 less than a herd of huge African elephants coming down to 

 drink. 



If it were not for the heat, which prevents our enjoying 

 existence here, there are sights of beauty without number 

 to make us happy; after the rains especially, when the 

 open plains are richly strewed with the flowers of different 

 bulbous plants. The Cocoa-palms too here give their own 

 peculiar tone to the scenery, and as long as we stay near the 

 coast we find them everywhere. 



