1884.] 
AMEEIOA^T AGEIOULTUEIST. 
219 
The Banyan Tree. 
One of our young friends asked us : “ Is not the 
Banyan tree the most wonderful tree in the world?” 
It is a wonderful tree—indeed quite as much so as 
a stalk of Indian corn. The corn-stalk has the pc' 
culiar growth wliich makes the Banyan celebrated. 
The Banyan tree is a native of India and other 
parts of Asia, and is a kind of flg, with fruit as 
small as a cherry, and not pleasant to eat. The 
branches produce roots, which at first swing in the 
air, but on reaching the earth they throw out 
could not come into the house to trouble her. 
Captain John, always in a hurry, soon departed 
on another long voyage, after fully instructing 
his br(jther how to care for the camelopard. 
The next day Mr. Dyckman exclaimed while at 
dinner, “I wish John had left that thing in Africa 
where it belonged. Why, the beast got out this 
morning, and just about ruined my young fruit 
trees by eating off the leaves and branches ; and 
then it got at neighbor McLaren’s horse-chestnuts, 
and when our man Jerry went after it, it gave him 
such a kick that he’ll never go near it again,”— 
A BANYAN TREE .—Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
smaller roots that become fixed in the ground. 
These upright roots grow large and become like 
trunks. The broad tree-top is thus supported by 
many pillars. Indeed, the original trunk often de¬ 
cays, leaving the top propped up by these root- 
trunks. Three hundred and fifty of them have been 
counted on one tree,and a tree is mentioned so large, 
.that its wide top will shade seven thousand persons! 
Mr. Dyckmau’s Camelopard. 
The Dyckman family would have lead a happy, 
peaceful life on their large and valuable farm, but 
for Uncle “ Capt. John’s ” fondness for birds and 
animals, which was so great, that on every return¬ 
ing voyage he brought some new, strange creature 
as a present for Mrs. Dyckman. She, and her 
neighbors, too, were however saved much annoy¬ 
ance by the usual early death of these unacclimat¬ 
ed animals. Once, a monkey persisted in living, 
and was up to all sorts of trjcks, chasing the chil¬ 
dren, tearing their clothes, frightening the mother 
Wbgn it broke its chain, as it often ingeniously did, 
lifltii it was sold to a menagerie man. Then quiet 
reigned for a season; but the Captain soon came 
with a new pet, a veritable camelopard. Mrs. D, 
could hardly say “ how do you do, Captain John,” 
but he shook her hand in the heartiest manner, 
lovingly pinched little Johnny’s cheek, kissed wee 
Dora, and tossed the baby almost to the ceiling. 
The children were wild with delight, and eagerly 
•inquired where the new pet came from.—“ Why, 
from Africa, of course,” said Master Richard, 
•grandly, who, inheriting Uncle John’s love of 
animals, had read Wood’s Natural History. And 
he went on reassuringly, the camelopard or gi¬ 
raffe is very gentle, though sometimes when pro¬ 
voked will kick with his hind legs,” looking warn- 
ingly at little John who was sidling up to the tall 
pet with a stick in his hahd. Mrs. D. was less dis- 
-.furbed on thinking that an animal sixteen feet high 
“ That’s just what the book says. If provoked he 
will sometimes kick,” chimed in Richard, triumph¬ 
ant at this illustration of the truth of his re¬ 
searches.—“ But that won’t make Jerry feel any 
better,” replied Mr. D.—“Andihope you’ve tied 
him fast now,” said Mrs. D.—“ Ch, yes, as fast as 
any one can tie a neck so long, that you don’t 
know what part to hitch to that he’ll not slip out 
of somehow.”—The children were all delighted, 
and Richard read from his book, ‘‘ the flesh of the 
camelopard is considered quite delicate and ten¬ 
der,” when Mr. D. broke in, “ we might cook and 
eat him ; what say you, wife ?”—She was replying, 
“ 1 should feel as if eating a horse”; but her voice, 
was drowned by the children’s ” noes,” thinking 
their father in earnest.—“ Why didn’t you tell 
Uncle John you didn’t want it ?” continued mother. 
—“ Oh, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings when he 
gives us so many nice presents. You must never 
look a gift camelopard in the mouth,” he respond¬ 
ed, and the children laughed. 
That very afternoon as Mrs. D. sat near her open 
chamber window, sewing a button on her shoe, the 
tall pet peered in right under her nose, and throw¬ 
ing the shoe in her fright, she shivered a fine mir¬ 
ror. She had always held the superstitious notion 
that to break a looking-glass was a bad omen, and 
she went down stairs weeping, just as Jerry came 
limping in with, “ where’s Meester Deeckman; 
sure that haythen baste ”—“ camelopard or gi¬ 
raffe,” chimed in Richard.—“ Karmilipard thin I 
I’m thinking the name and the baste is the match 
of old Nick. Why jest as 1 was puttin the pizen 
green on the pertater vine, he kim over the fence 
to give me anither kick, and I sot the pail 
in the crook of the apple tree and run away, 
niver dramin he’d touch it. But he did, and jist 
come outside and hear him groanin.”—It was too 
true. The camelopard had come all the way from 
Africa to die like a common potato bug. The 
children were inconsolable. Mrs. D., though sor¬ 
rowful at the animal’s sufferings, felt relieved when 
it was dead. Though Richard assured his father 
by his book that “ the skin was very valuable,” he 
was hastily buried in the meadow beyond the brook. 
Atthe tea table Richard broke in, “ the camelopard 
was so called because it resembles both the camel 
and panther or pard_’’but was interrupted by 
his father with, “ I think I know all I want to 
about it. If this one should have lived, I should 
have been bankrupt in a month.”—Probabl}’^ he 
wrote something of the kind to Captain John, for 
no more presents of wild animals came to the 
Dyckman farm.—I will only add for the benefit of 
superstitious people that despite the broken look¬ 
ing-glass, the camelopard’s death has been the 
only one in the Dyckman family up to this time. 
Corals not Insects. 
Miss “ S. A. W.” asks, “ If coral insects make so 
much coral as to form islands, why is coral jewelry 
so costly ? ” There are many different kinds of 
coral, but none of them are built by insects. The 
” coral insect,” which was talked about by the 
older writers, does not exist. Coral is, however, 
produced by animals, but of a very low order, bud¬ 
ding and brancbing so much like plants, that they 
were at one time claimed to be plants rather than 
animals. They belong to the Zoophytes (a word 
meaning an animal that grows like a plant). 
Their bodies are very soft, and they surround 
themselves with a strong covering, much like mar¬ 
ble, which they get from the sea water. The corals 
which form the islands are usually white, and of 
course are large kinds. Some are rounded and 
others branching, and when recent they contain 
the living animal or animals, which put out their 
feelers from the numerous openings. The coral 
used for jewelry is a very solid red kind, found 
mainly in the Mediterranean Sea. It is rarely more 
than a foot long, and seldom larger than the little 
finger. The engraving of a branch of this, shows 
the animals spreading their feelers from the pores 
in the sides. In the coral fisheries, a kind of drag 
is used to break off the coral, and bring it into the 
boats. Some of this is found in the Persian Gulf, 
and in the Red Sea. The tint in different localities 
varies from a light-salmon, to rose-pink, and dark- 
red. A black variety is also found. Naples is the 
principal place for the manufacture of coral orna¬ 
ments, and a large number of people find employ' 
ment in working up the material into necklaces 
pins, ear-rings, bracelets, etc. The work done by 
the coral animals in building up reefs and even 
large islands, is truly wonderful. Slowly, very 
A BRANCH OF PRECIOUS CORAL. 
slowly, by their united labors, the mass is built up. 
At last a small island appears, and in time plants 
of some kinds show themselves. “ Where do the 
seeds come from ?” Most likely they are brought 
by the birds. It has been found that water-fowl 
carry a great many minute seeds from place to 
space in the mud that adheres to their feet. 
