HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
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branches extend in a circular form, and are so thick as to be impenetrable to the 
solar rays. Some of these trees are so large that two or three hundred persons may 
take shelter: under them : this circumstance arises from the peculiar property of the 
branches, which bend down to the earth, take root there, and form a progeny of 
stems that, by shooting forth new branches, compose this vast extent of shade: the 
inhabitants of the East hold this tree in great veneration, and frequently erect their 
pagodas beneath it. 
“ According to Boulaye le Gout, this tree is called the sacred Kasta, and is held 
in such high estimation: by the devotees, because their god Kan is said to have di¬ 
verted himself with playing the flute beneath the umbrage of its wide spreading 
branches. The same author adds, that the inhabitants do not venture to rob it of 
a single leaf, from the apprehension that death will inevitably follow within a year 
of such a violation.: fie also refers his reader to what Herodotus and Quintus 
Curtius have Written concerning it. Tavernier also mentions, that it is called Lul 
by the Persians ; but that the Franks gave it the name of Banian, because the 
penitent Faquirs. and Banians perform their devotions within its bowers. M. de 
Rochefort calls it Pareturier, in his natural history of the Antilles. According to his 
description, the leaves of its young branches are like those of the quince, the upper 
part being green, and the under part whitish and downy : they are the favourite food 
of the. elephants. Its fruit consists of small figs of the same size as those of Europe, 
but not so well tasted: they are of a red colour both within and without. The 
natives of the country where this tree grows make some kind of dress of the bark. 
“The Kasta of the Isle, of Rodriguez has a leaf the size of an human hand: it; 
is thick, and resembles the shape of an heart, like that of the lilac, and to the touch 
is soft as satin. The flower is white, and emits a pleasing odour; the fruit is round, 
its colour red, and of the size of a small plum. Its skin is hard, and contains small 
seeds like those of our figs. It is not unwholesome, but its taste is insipid : it is the 
common food of the bats, who roost in great numbers among the tufted branches 
of the tree. 
f* The wood of the trees in this island is, in general, very hard ; that which we 
employed in building our huts, became full of worms within a few weeks after it 
was cut down.; but if it is left to soak during a month in the sea, the worm cannot 
enter it. o r. . --d K'w! , fn:, .rfopb n: r 
<s There: is a tree which, from its foetid smell, we palled tire stinjdpg wood: it 
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