228 
TRAVELS IN 
manner as to prefent no clear idea to the mind 
It is not eafy to conceive how a " fmoothbark 
and branches of immenfe extent" fliould 
afford a fecure fhelter againft birds of prey. 
The author, or the tranflator, no doubt meant 
to fay, that the quantity of branches, and the 
manner in which they were interwoven, af- 
forded a retreat to the fmall birds, and the 
fmoothnefs of its bark prevented reptiles from. 
aTcending the tree with eafe to devour them. 
But I know not where the author faw the 
fmooth bark he mentions. Certainly it muft 
be the aloe dichotoma of which he fpeaks ; for 
I know no tree fo rough as the mrmofa nilo- 
tica, or that has fuch a wrinkled bark 
Sparmann 
* The paiTage in Paterfon is as follows : " The boughs 
" afford an afylum to a fpecies of gregarious bird, which 
feems guided by inflm6l in the choice of its habitation, 
for which this tree is peculiarly adapted. The flcm 
" being about thirty feet high before it fends out branches, 
and covered with a fmooth poiiflied bark, the birds are 
" defended againft the diflferent fpecies of fnakes and other 
" reptiles which furround them, and which would other- 
*^ wife deftroy their eggs ; while the extent of the branches 
allows fufficient room for the increafmg colony ; I fay 
increafmg, as thefe creatures appear extremely prolific." 
Hence it appears, that the obfervation cf Vaillant applies 
only 
