100 PALM-TREE FOREST. Chap. IV. 



fish, while others are punting over the small intersecting 

 streams, to examine their sunken fish-baskets. 



Towards evening, hundreds of pretty little hawks {Mry- 

 thropus vespertinus) are seen flying in a southerly direction, 

 and feeding on dragon-flies and locusts. They come, ap- 

 parently, from resting on the palm-trees during the heat 

 of the day. Flocks of scissor-bills {Tiliyncops) are then 

 also on the wing, and in search of food, ploughing the 

 water with their lower mandibles, which are nearly half 

 an inch longer than the upper ones. 



At the north-eastern end of the marsh, and about three 

 miles from the river, commences a great forest of palm-trees 

 {Borassus JEthiopiwm). It extends many miles, and at one 

 point comes close to the river. The grey trunks and green tops 

 of this immense mass of trees give a pleasing tone of colour 

 to the view. The mountain-range, which rises close behind 

 the palms, is generally of a cheerful green, and has many trees, 

 with patches of a lighter tint among them, as if spots of land 

 had once been cultivated. The sharp angular rocks and dells 

 on its sides have the appearance of a huge crystal broken; 

 and this is so often the case in Africa, that one can guess 

 pretty nearly at sight, whether a range is of the old crystal- 

 line rocks or not. The Borassus, though not an oil-bearing 

 palm, is a useful tree. The fibrous pulp, round the large 

 nuts, is of a sweet fruity taste, and is eaten by men and 

 elephants. The natives bury the nuts until the kernels begin 



