372 INSTINCT OF TREES. 



moon ; Tout such was the confusion produced in my mind by 

 the state of my body, that I could scarcely manage, after some 

 hours' trial, to get a lunar observation in which I could repose 

 confidence. The Chihune flows into the Longe, and that into 

 the Chihombo, a feeder of the Kasai. Those who know the 

 difficulties of taking altitudes, times, and distances, and com- 

 mitting all of them to paper, will sympathize with me in this 

 and many similar instances. While at Chihune, the men of a 

 village brought wax for sale, and, on finding that we wished 

 honey, went off and soon brought a hive. All the bees in the 

 country are in possession of the natives, for they place hives suf* 

 ficient for them all. After having ascertained this, we never at- 

 tended the call of the honey-guide, for we were sure it would only 

 lead us to a hive which we had no right to touch. The bird con- 

 tinues its habit of inviting attention to the honey, though its serv- 

 ices in this district are never actually needed. My Makololo la- 

 mented that they never knew before that wax could be sold for 

 any thing of value. 



As we traverse a succession of open lawns and deep forests, 

 it is interesting to observe something like instinct developed 

 even in trees. One which, when cut, emits a milky juice, if 

 met with on the open lawns, grows as an ordinary umbrageous 

 tree, and shows no disposition to be a climber ; when planted 

 in a forest it still takes the same form, then sends out a 

 climbing branch, which twines round another tree until it rises 

 thirty or forty feet, or to the level of the other trees, and there 

 spreads out a second crown where it can enjoy a fair share of 

 the sun's rays. In parts of the forest still more dense than this, 

 it assumes the form of a climber only, and at once avails itself 

 of the assistance of a tall neighbor by winding vigorously 

 round it, without attempting to form a lower head. It does 

 not succeed so well as parasites proper, but where forced to 

 contend for space it may be mistaken for one which is inva- 

 riably a climber. The paths here were very narrow and very 

 much encumbered with gigantic creepers, often as thick as a 

 man's leg. There must be some reason why they prefer, in 

 some districts, to go up trees in the common form of the thread 

 of a screw rather than in any other. On the one bank of the 

 Chihune they appeared to a person standing opposite them to 



