Page:Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society - Volume 1.djvu/166

130 Dr. Norupen’s Account of the Banyan-Tree. “this, rising upwards, they are metamorphosed into stems, from which, «in the progress of growing, branches issue again in like manner. «“ These, similar to those before, bend downwards, and form other layers, “ and again others: so that from one tree, there arises a large bower, re- sembling a pillared booth, or tabernacle. He (Onesicritus) likewise “* speaks of the magnitude of the trees, which, he says, is so immense, that «« five men can hardly fathom the stems. Aristobulus, when speaking of “ the Acesines, and its junction with the Hyarotis, also makes mention of “ the trees with down-bent branches, and of their great size, which, he “ asserts, will afford shelter to fifty horsemen; the other writer (Onesicri- © tus) even says, to four hundred. But those go beyond all the rest, who “‘ report, that on the farther side of the river Hyarotis, a tree was seen, ‘¢ which, at noon, made a shade of five stadia.”

This account of Strabo, as I have before stated, rests upon the autho- rity of writers, whose business it was not to be very exact in matters of this nature: it incidentally formed a topic in their narration ; and even if they wrote to the best of their knowledge, without a wilful design of misrepre- senting the truth, yet, as it was not incumbent on them to investigate, with great nicety, the reports which they had heard, erroneous details were unavoidable. Among other misnomers, they seem to me to have con- founded different trees. Perhaps some particulars, which we do not find applicable to the Banyan, may have belonged to the Great Fan Palm (Co- rypha umbraculifera) : hence many points of difference, between this passage of Strabo, and the accurate description of Theophrastus, may be explained. The size of the leaf is, in the former, magnified to a large shield (dea): scutum),* while the latter limits it to a small pelta. On the other hand, the circumference of the stem, or trunk of the tree, said to be scarce fathom- ablet by five men, is much below the estimate which we have before noticed. In other instances, the spirit of exaggeration must be supposed to have operated, as in this, when it is related that the shade of the tree, at noon, covered five stadia, which is a space of more than three thousand feet. The emission of the roots from the branches,t which is a very important + “Ore wévre avbpdarois Surmepianmra Elvat Te srExN . £ It is peculiar to several species of the genus Ficus, among others to the Ficus virens, a large tree, which is a native of South America.
 * Ta 08 puAAm aomidos om EAaTTO.