§ X. THE BOTANICAL GALLERY. 



The botanical galleries occupy the first floor of 

 the building called the administration. On the 

 staircase leading to them is the trunk of a palm- 

 tree from Cayenne, perfectly cylindrical, 12 feet 

 high and 10 inches in diameter, enclosed in a 

 network or grating, formed by the flattened 

 stems of a large liana, a species of fig, naturally 

 grafted together. They have produced no im- 

 pression upon its surface, but they would have 

 become imbedded in the trunk of a tree growing 

 by concentrical circles. There is also a section 

 of a smaller palm on which the liana is much 

 thicker. 



Beside the door of the gallery is a trunk of the 

 chamoerops covered with large scales, which are 

 the base of the footstalks, that persist after the 

 falling of the leaf. 



On entering we turn to the right, and pass 

 through three galleries communicating with 

 each other by an arch in the centre. The first 

 contains samples of wood ; the second, the her- 



