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oiiAr. vii. NOVEL ASPECTS OF THE VEGETATION. 173 his shoulder, he struck the pole with the palm of his hand, producing a sort of hollow sound ; when his companions each seized his pole, and lifting it over his head, brought it down upon the opposite shoulder. Sometimes all four of the hearers changed at the same time, but more frequently only the two who were together, either in front or behind. Many new forms of vegetation presented themselves through this day’s journey. Amongst those bordering the coast, the acacia, the casuarina, and the pandanus were most abundant, with occasionally a group of sago trees or a solitary cocoa-nut towering above the rest. I had seen nothing, either in Mauritius or Polynesia, resembling them, — especially one kind seldom attaining above ten or twelve feet in height, a kind of pandanus, having a number of leaves in the centre of the crown, apparently glued or stuck together at their extre mities, giving to the centre or crown a singular form; while the disentangled leaves, that stretched out horizontally or hung down parallel with the stem, seemed very much like the leaves with which the Chinese line their tea chests. I could, however, only notice the peculiarities of this tree as we passed along; and I failed to fulfil my intention of procuring seeds or leaves at some future time. Another species of pan danus was to me equally new and remarkable. The stem of this was straight as that of a fir tree, and the branches hori zontal with feathery tips of flag or short ribbon-formed leaves. The tree was frequently forty or fifty feet high, crowned with an upright plume, and at a distance might have been mistaken for a larch, but for its stiff and formal growth. I did not see it near the shore, but amongst the low wet places inland. I had no opportunity of examining it minutely, but was told it was indigenous; it is probably Pandanus mu'id- catus, called at Mauritius Vacoua en pyramids. But the most remarkable objects on this day’s journey were the vast numbers of that splendid production of Mada-