CELEBRATED TEBES. 207 



witli the trunk, and so become horizontal. In 

 this direction they stretch fifty or sixty feet, till 

 their weight brings them to the ground, with 

 which the extremities of many of them are in con- 

 tact. So that the whole tree has the appearance 

 of a woody hemisphere, whose radius, including 

 the thickness of the trunk, must be about eighty 

 or ninety feet. Whatever may be said for the 

 peculiarity of such a tree, we cannot say much in 

 favour of its picturesque form. It seems to be 

 little more than a monstrous bush. The bark of 

 this tree is of an ash-coloured tint. Its leaves are 

 oval, pointed at the end, and about five inches 

 long. Though the Boabab is a native of Africa, 

 yet a small one was found growing in the island 

 of Martinico. It is supposed, however, to have 

 been brought thither by some negro slave, as it is 

 common among those poor people to carry about 

 them seeds of different kinds, as charms and 

 remedies, and it is certain that many African 

 plants have been propagated in the "West Indies 

 in this accidental manner. 



We have lately had an account of another 

 African tree, which is equally wonderful. In some 



