412 THE AFRICAN PALMS. 



in the moist localities of the Tropics, and we shall hereafter meet 

 with them in South America. 



Equatorial Africa possesses several species of Palm-trees peculiar 

 to it. Such are the Thorny Date-tree, the Borassus of Ethiopia, the 

 Rapkia vinifera of Congo, which, as its name "wine-bearing" indi- 

 cates, furnishes a wine analogous to that extracted in other regions 

 from other trees of the same family ; the Elceis Guinensis, or Guinea 

 Palm, whence we obtain the well-known product of palm oil. This 

 oil, or palm-tree butter, forms an important article of food among 

 the Guinea negroes. It is imported into Europe in large quantities, 

 and employed in the manufacture of soap. 



The forests of the Hottentot and Bechuana countries, and in 

 general of all those regions bordering on the Cape Colony, are frequently 

 of great extent, but mainly composed of trees of small stature, or even 

 of shrubs, such as the Cape Olive, a few Acacias, some Composites 

 and Conifers. Forests, as I have said, are rare in the explored 

 portions of the west African coast ; they become denser and more 

 numerous as we leave the great ocean in our rear, and penetrate into 

 that vast interior which for ages has been haunted by so many 

 mysteries. Their Flora, however, offers no special character, and does 

 not materially differ from that of Guinea and Senegambia. 



CHAPTER TIL 



VEGETABLE LIFE IN THE FORESTS OF THE GREAT ISLANDS. 



I HAVE said that under the same parallels of latitude, or under neigh- 

 bouring parallels, the physiognomy of the virgin forests was every- 

 where nearly the same, and hence we must study from a point close at 

 hand the species which compose them, to determine the distinctive 

 characters of the great agglomerations of vegetables peculiar to differ- 



