THE COTTON-WOOD THEE. 



87 



tened to them so closely, that they seem to be paii;s 

 of them. Here the ferns also are seen in great 

 variety. LoraMiiacece and MeUmostmmcew are found 

 in this zone. To this region belongs the beautiful 

 cotton-wood tree Its trunk is seldom more than ten 

 or twelve inches in diameter^ and rises up aboaost 

 perpendiculai'ly thirty feet. The bark is of a 

 light olive-green, and remarkably smooth and fair. 

 The limbs shoot out in whorls at right angles to 

 the trunk, and, as they are separated by a eonsiderar 

 ble space, their open foliage is in strong contrast to 

 the dark, dense jungle out of which they usually 

 rise. They thrive well also along the banks of 

 rivers. In Java these trees are frequently used as 

 telegi'aph-posts — a purpose for which they are ad- 

 mirably adapted on account of their regularity. Be- 

 sides, any thing but a li\dng post would quickly 

 decay in these tropical lands. The fiTiit is a pod, 

 and the fibrous substance it yields is quite like cot- 

 ton. I found it very suitable for stuffing bii^ds. 



Over this region of the fig comes that of oaks 

 and laurels. Orchidaceous plants and melastomaa 

 are more abundant here. 



Above five or six thousand feet are RnMmm^ 

 heaths, and cone-beaiing trees ; and from this region 

 we pass up into one where small feins abound, and 

 lichens and mosses cover the rocks and hang from 

 the trees. The tropical woiid is now beneath us, 

 and we ai-e in the temperate zone. 



The tops of all those volcanic mountains that are 

 still in a state of emption are usually bare ; and in 

 others so large a quantity of the sidphur they i>ro- 



