CLIMBING TREES 



31 



slightly, and the soil and vegetation became suddenly 

 altered in character. The shrubs here were grasses, 

 Cyperacese and other plants, smaller in foliage than those 

 growing in moist grounds. The forest was second growth, 

 low, consisting of trees which had the general aspect of 

 laurels and other evergreens in our gardens at home : the 

 leaves glossy and dark green. Some of them were ele- 

 gantly veined and hairy (Melastomae), whilst many, 

 scattered amongst the rest, had smaller foliage (Myrtles), 

 but these were not sufficient to subtract much from the 

 general character of the whole. 



The sun, now, for we had loitered long on the road, 

 was exceedingly powerful. The day was most brilliant ; 

 the sky without a cloud. In fact, it was one of those 

 glorious days which announce the commencement of the 

 dry season. The radiation of heat from the sandy ground 

 was visible by the quivering motion of the air above it. 

 We saw or heard no mammals or birds ; a few cattle 

 belonging to an estate down a shady lane were congregated, 

 panting, under a cluster of wide-spreading trees. The 

 very soil was hot to our feet, and we hastened onward 

 to the shade of the forest which we could see not far 

 ahead. At length, on entering it, what a relief ! We 

 found ourselves in a moderately broad pathway or alley, 

 where the branches of the trees crossed overhead and pro- 

 duced a delightful shade. The woods were at first of 

 second growth, dense, and utterly impenetrable ; the 

 ground, instead of being clothed with grass and shrubs 

 as in the woods of Europe, was everywhere carpeted with 

 Lycopodiums (Selaginellae). Gradually the scene became 

 changed. We descended slightly from an elevated, dry, 

 and sandy area to a low and swampy one ; a cool air 

 breathed on our faces, and a mouldy smell of rotting 

 vegetation greeted us. The trees were now taller, the 

 underwood less dense, and we could obtain glimpses into 

 the wilderness on all sides. The leafy crowns of the 

 trees, scarcely two of which could be seen together of 

 the same kind, were now far away above us, in another 

 world as it were. We could only see at times, where 

 there was a break above, the tracery of the foliage against 

 the clear blue sky. Sometimes the leaves were palmate, 

 or of the shape of large outstretched hands ; at others, 

 finely cut or feathery like the leaves of Mimosae. Below, 

 the tree trunks were everywhere linked together by 



