THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 533 



been scooped out; there is a bed in this room to which 

 access is gained by steps outside: it is the abode of an 

 anchorite. This tree, which perhaps sheltered in its 

 shade the companions of the Seigneur de Bethencourt 

 when on their way to embark for the conquest of the 

 Canaries, is held in great veneration in the country. 



One of our most illustrious and philosophic botanists, 

 Marquis, renowned alike for his eminent position and 

 knowledge, measured the trunk of this tree, and found 

 that it was thirty feet in circumference near the ground. 



I have also seen on the banks of the Bosphorus plane- 

 trees the trunks of which Avere pierced with enormous 

 cavities. In the neighbourhood of Smyrna there is one 

 of these trees celebrated for its size and antiquity. The 

 stem, which is hollowed right through, is spread widely 

 out at the base, and represents three columns, which con- 

 verge towards each other, forming a sort of porch beneath 

 which a man on horseback can pass easily.^ 



Yet the baobab on the banks of the Niger, in its splen- 

 did luxuriance of growth, surpasses even all the giants 

 of the Bosphorus. It is especially remarkable for its 

 thickness, contrasted with its want of height. It is a colos- 

 sus of ungraceful look. Almost always without leaves, 

 bearing them only in the rainy season, its whitish conical 

 trunk, scarcely fifteen to twenty feet in height, is more 

 than a hundred feet in circumference at the level of the 

 ground. This short and robust support is necessary to 

 sustain its incredibly large dome of leaves, the Inilk of 

 which is sometimes so great that, seen from a distance, 

 the baobab looks rather like a small forest than a single 



^ In their learned works on forests, Evelyn ami Loudou have represented 

 several other trees, which, like the Platauus of Smyrna, present openings through 

 wdiich a knight completely equipped could pass freely. — Evelyn, Sylva, 1664. 

 Loudon, Arboretum Britannicwn. London, 1838. 



