REVIEWS — THREE VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 209 



out from tlie centre of tlie stem, long broad leaves like those of the 

 plantain, only less fragile, and rising, not round the stalk, but in two 

 lines on opposite sides, so that as the leaves increase, and the lower 

 ones droop at the end, or extend horizontally, the tree presents the 

 appearance of a large open fan. "When the stem rises ten or twelve 

 feet high, the lower part of the outer covering becomes hard and dry, 

 like the bark [a cocoa-nut tree has no harlc : the author means the 

 outer layer] of the cocoa-nut tree. Many of the trees in this region 

 were at least thirty feet from the ground to the lowest leaves. I fre- 

 quently counted from twenty to twenty-four leaves on a single tree, 

 the stalk of each leaf being six or eight feet long, and the broad leaf 

 itself four or six feet more. 



" The whole of these twenty-four bright green gigantic leaves, 

 spread out like a fan at the top of a trunk thirty feet high, presented 

 a spectacle as impressive as it was to me rare and beautiful ; and in 

 this part of the country they were the most conspicuous objects for 

 miles together, and were it not that these vast bright green shining 

 leaves are slit on each side by the winds, and so flutter in smaller 

 portions with the passing breeze, the prevalence of this tree would 

 impart a degree of almost inconceivable magnificence to the vegeta- 

 tion of the country. In the fan-like head of the traveller's tree there 

 were generally three or four branches of seed-pods. The parts of 

 fructification seemed to be enclosed in a tough firm spathe, like those 

 of the cocoa-nut, but the subsequent development was more like that 

 of the fruit of the plantain. When the pods, or seed vessels, of 

 which there were forty or fifty on each branch, were ripe, they burst 

 open, and each pod was seen to enclose thirty or more seeds, in shape 

 like a small bean, but enveloped in a fine silky fibre of the most bril- 

 liant blue or purple color. 



"But this tree has been most celebrated for containing, even 

 during the most arid season, a large quantity of pure fresh water, 

 supplying to the traveller the place of wells in the desert, "When- 

 ever I enquired of the natives they always affirmed that such was the 

 fact, and that so abundant and pure was the water, that when the 

 men were at work near the trees, they did not take the trouble to go 

 to the stream for water, but drew off and drank the water from the 

 tree. Having formerly been somewhat sceptical on this point, I de- 

 termined to examine some of the trees ; and during my journey this 

 morning, we stopped near a clump of the trees. One of my bearers 



