me of the species of this genus. With these, an expert
gardener might produce any form he likes; the tendency exists in all to
throwing out additional roots; in few only to excess. In the generality
it is limited to the trunk and often to its base. Nobody can understand
this genus who cannot study it from living specimens.

Cardiopterus is very common along the foot of these hills: it abounds
with milky juice, and in habit and some other points approaches nearer to
Chenopodiaceae than Sapindaceae.

_December 7th_.--Returned from Jeypore, whither I had been to report on
the Caoutchouc trees. {193}

These trees appear to be limited to the belt of jungle or toorai which
commences towards the foot of the Aka and Duphla hills, and which in the
part in which I examined them is about 8 miles wide. They are said to be
found likewise among the neighbouring villages, but I saw no instance of
this. They occur solitarily, or at most in groups of two or three. They
appear to be more frequent towards the immediate base of the hills, and
to prefer the drier parts of those humid and dense forests called toorai.
They are frequently of vast size, and by this as well as their dense
head, may be at once recognised even at a distance of a few miles. Some
idea of their size may be formed from the following measurements of a
large one:

Circumference of main trunk, 74 feet
Ditto, including the supports, 120 "
Ditto, of space covered by crown branches, 620 "
Height, ditto ditto, 80 to 100 "

The roots spread out in every direction on reaching the ground; the
larger running along the surface, their upper portion being uncovered:
occasionally they assume the form of buttresses, but never to such a
marked degree as occurs in some other trees, such as the Simool,
Herietiera, etc. The supports are only thrown out towards the base of
the principal branches, not as in the banian at indefinite distances. The
trunk is a compound one, formed entirely by the mutual cohesion of roots;
not as in almost all other trees by the growth of parts in an ascending
direction. Its aspect is picturesque and varied, occasionally putting on
the appearance of sculpture. It is, I think, doubtful whether this as
well as some other species of the genus are not to be considered as
genuine parasites, at any rate they generally cause the destruction of
the tree on which they originally grew. If this be the cas