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THE TROPICAL AQRICUl.TURIST. [November 2, 1891. 
of gigantic trees in the world, perliaps. One who 
visited tlie Mariposa Grove lasfyear writes: "They 
are not trees at first sight. You can neither measure 
them witlr your eye nor sit in their sliade — only 
take in a portion of the brown trunk as large as a 
good-sized house. It is only by an unusual effort 
of looking up that we see either foliage or limbs. 
They are not beautiful — simply enormous." Imagine 
one tree measuring 90 feet in circumference ; this is 
true of "Grizzly Giant." " Wawona," sometimes 
called "Tunnel Tree," has a roadway cut through the 
solid heart which is 27 feet through, 10 feet high 
and 10 wide, and yet the tree is vigorous and growing. 
There are many others equally as wonderful in this 
famous California forest. 
The cypress, in ancient times, was considered a 
sacred tree, and idols were carved from it. The 
Pacific Ooast Indians were found using it in their 
ceremony of purification in their wildest savage state. 
The mulberry has been called the wisest of trees 
from the fact that it never puts forth its buds and 
leaves till the season is so far advanced that there 
is no inclement weather to be apprehended. Rose- 
wood is said to owe its suggestive name to the fact 
that when the tree is first cut the fresh wood pos- 
sesses a very powerful rose-like fragrance. There are 
several varieties of this wood and all very valuable. 
The Quinnepiac oak at Woodbridge, Conn., which 
was cut in 1882, was pronounced the oldest tree on 
the Atlantic Coast. Gen. Lafayette and other 
officers of Washington's army once rested under its 
spreading shade while on the march, and a visit to 
the tree by Woodworth is said to have inspired the 
poem, "The Old Oaken Bucket." In front of Mace- 
donia Church, in Columbia county, Georgia, is a 
quivering tree. Every limb, large and small, on the 
tree trembles as in fear, or as a suffering auimal 
would quiver, and this occurs when not a breath of 
air is stirring. 
The Scotch fir is a blessing to the country in 
which it grows. The poor man's hut is lighted by 
torches made of the branches, which burn most 
brilliantly owing to the resinous nature of the wood. 
In the barren parts of Sweden and Lapland the 
peasants select the oldest and least resinous of the 
branches, take out the inner bark, which they grind 
and mix with their scanty supply of meal, making it 
into cakes called bark-bread. 
In the islands of the West Indies grows a tree 
resembling an a,pple tree in height and size, known 
as the calabash tree. It has wedge-shaped leaves, 
large, whitish, fleshy blossoms that grow on the 
trunk and big branches. The fruit is much like a 
common gourd, only a good deal stronger, and often 
measures 12 inches in diameter. The hard shell of 
this is cut into various shapes by the natives 
and is sometimes handsomely carved. It is made 
into drinking-cups, dishes, pails, and even pots, and 
can actually be used over the fire for boiling water. 
But the calabash pot gives out after a few trials over 
the fire, and is unfit for further service. 
Probably the only trees wliich grow ready-made 
whistles are those found in the forests of Nubia. 
Wlien this tree is swayed by the wind, strange 
sounds may be heard like the notes of a flute, a 
fife, or a penny whistle. The vocal tree was a 
wonder to all who heard the mysterious sounds, un- 
till explanation was given by a scientific traveller 
who investigated the matter. He found that at 
certain seasons of the year hordes of insects de- 
posited their eggs on the young shoots and ends 
of branches. When the young insects emerged, 
small holes were left in the galls. The wmd blow- 
ing through these openings caused the strange noise. 
In New Zealand is a tree fatal to birds. The 
seed vessels give off a sticky fluid, and many a fly 
finds himself on the gLunmy stuff. These flies attract 
Hiiiall birds, and they too got so covered with the 
fluid that tlioy arc unable to fly. They arc also 
alliacLcd by the clusters of ripe fruit, which they 
intend to cat, Init when once covered by this fatal 
gum they rcmiun, not to cat, but to be eaten by 
other animals. 
The iilost important article for illuminating purposes 
'^n •Japau in easily maije kqin fr^ut <?!' a 
tree which very much resembles the common sumac 
of this country, and is called "the vegetable wax 
tree." The berries are tlie size of a small pea, of 
a whitish colour, hanging in clusters and contain 
the Avax as a thick, white coating of the seed. The 
wax is obtained by the berries bemg crushed, 
strained and pressed in hemp-bags, or by boiling the 
bruised seeds and skimming the wax from the top. 
From experiments made, this tree can be readily 
grown in this country. It is highly ornamental as 
well as valuable for its production. 
In a part of Africa not frequently visited by tra- 
vellers, the discovery lias been made of a tree which 
yields butter. Under no system of treatment can 
it be made to equal tliat churned from milk, but by 
salting it is somewhat similar. By heating with a 
solution of potash or soda it is easily converted into 
soap. 
The " stinging tree '' of Queensland is a luxurious 
shrub, pleashig to the eye, but dangerous to the 
touch. It grows from two or three inches to 10 or 
15 feet in height, and sends forth a veiy disagreeable 
odor. Its effects are curious ; it leaves no mark, 
but the pain is maddening, and for months after- 
ward the part when touched is lender in rainy weather 
or when wet in washing. 
A marvellous palm grows in the village of Pedur, 
in India. Some children plucked its fruit at five 
o'clock one afternoon and flocked early the next 
morning to gather more, but they found the branches 
now far above their heads. Observation showed that 
the tree had been changing its position every morn- 
ing and evening. It is 11 feet in height. One who 
has seen it writes: ' At 5"3U the tree was almost 
lying toward the west. The foot of the tree was at 
an angle of five to seven degrees with the ground, 
and we were given to understand that it had already 
commenced to rise from fom' o'clock. A handker- 
chief which had been tied to one of the leaves, 
so that its other end just touched the ground, had 
risen six inches. At 8 p.m., the handkerchief was 
eighteen inches from, the ground, and at 3 a.m., 
nine feet."* 
One of the greatest wonders of Madagascar is the 
"Traveller's Tree." Its stem resembles that of a 
plantain ; but it sends out its two wing-like leaves 
(which resemble a large expanded fan) on opposite 
sides of the stalk. In an aged tree the lowest of 
these leaves will be from 20 to 40 feet from the 
ground. The fruit grow.j in large bunches, with three 
or four such bunches to a tree. The leaves are 
used for roof thatching, and the leaf stalks twirled 
together serve for the walls of the islanders' huts. 
The most remarkable property of this, and the one 
which gives its name " traveller's tree,'' is its leaf 
stalks, which, even in the driest seasons, always 
contain water ; and the wayfarer, if he be thirsty, 
has only to pierce the thick base of a stalk to obtain 
fully a quart of pure and refreshing liquid. 
Newton, N. C., has a curiosity that beats by a 
large majority the rain tree which gained such no- 
toriety in Uharlotte in 1886. It is a smoking tree, 
and baffles all efforts at explanation. It is a white 
mulberry tree, was brought from Illinois a year or two 
ago, and is now about 12 feet high, with a bushy 
top and many lateral branches. Puffs of smoke, 
identical in appearance to cigarette smoke, are seen 
starting every now and then from all over the tree ; 
sometimes from the leaves, sometimes from the bloom, 
sometimes from the bark of the limbs or trunk. 
The x^nffs ^re at irregular intervals ; sometimes two 
or three at once from various parts of the tree, and 
sometimes they are several seconds or a half minute 
apart. They just come haphazard from any part of 
the tree, and as they ascend in the air, look exictly 
like the smoke from a cigarette. 
Professor Schelwisch, the well-known naturalist 
of Bavaria, while travelling with the Stanley expedi- 
tion in the heart of Africa, noticed a plant with a 
peculiar steel-colored foliage. It was growing like 
other xflants from the soil, but on examination was 
found to bo practically composed of iron. The leaves, 
although very thin, were bent with great difficulty, 
* We ovnfess sceptiQism.— Ed. T. J. 
