"It was a goodly sight to see That venerable tree, For o'er the lawn, irregularly spread, Fifty straight columns propped its lofty head; And many a long depending shoot Seeking to strike its root, Straight, like a plummet, grew towards the ground. Some on the lower boughs, which crossed their way, Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round, With many a ring and wild contortion wound; Some to the passing wind, at times with sway Of gentle motion swung; Others of younger growth, unmoved, were hung Like stone-drops from the cavern's fretted height. Beneath was smooth and fair to sight, Nor weeds nor briars deformed the natural floor; And through the leafy cope which bowered it o'er, Came gleams of chequered light." The Banyan surpasses in diameter the finest oaks of Europe, and throws off numerous branches, of which several redescend towards the earth, force their way into it, take root therein, and in their turn develop into new trunks, whence spring other boughs that go through the same process of fructification; so that a single stem spreads in time into a kind of forest, and the canopy formed by the outgrowth of a solitary tree will frequently overshadow an area of 1700 square yards. The evergreen foliage of this beautiful tree forms an immense vault, which has justly been compared to the domed roof of a stately edifice supported by a host of columns. Here a myriad birds raise their songs of joy; underneath, the weary pilgrim finds a delightful asylum; from branch to branch leap the mocking ape and the nimble squirrel. The Hindus hold their "Pagod tree" in great veneration. It is to them one of the emblems of their god Siva, and in its dense deep shade they assemble to celebrate their sacrificial rites, whether in honour of this potent deity, or whether in honour of Ganesha, a rural divinity, analogous in his attributes to the Pan of the Greeks and Latins. Several other tropical trees possess, like the banyan, the property of producing adventitious roots which spring from the trunk or branches which implant themselves in the soil; but not one enjoys an equal power of reproduction and multiplication. * * * * *