Beneficent Nature has planted by the side of this fatal tree a species of infinite value, the _Ravenala Madagascariensis_, or "Traveller's-Tree," which derives the latter designation from the base of the petiole of its large leaves, expanded and hollowed out into a kind of gutter, being constantly filled with fresh water, and serving as a reservoir for the thirsty wayfarer. The Vacquois, or Vacoa (_Pandanus utilis_), one of the Screw-Pines, is of much utility to the natives, who fabricate sacks and bags out of its tenacious leaves. The manufacture of these bags is a source of comparative wealth for the poorer inhabitants of Madagascar, and to a still greater extent for those of Réunion and the Mauritius, whence they are exported annually by millions. The Malagasy forests also include several resinous species; among others, the Copal-Tree, which furnishes the well-known gum used in Europe as a varnish; and the _Vahea_, a genus of Apocynaceæ, yielding caoutchouc, which will hereafter figure largely in the exports from this magnificent island. There are two species, namely, _Vahea Madagascariensis_--the "Voua Héri" of the natives--and _Vahea gummifera_. Numerous lianas, and a multitude of epiphytous plants, ferns, and orchids, envelop and intertangle the trunks of the great trees. I shall specify only the Beaded Liana (_Abrus precatorius_), whose small hard fruits, rounded and of a scarlet red, make graceful wreaths and necklaces; the _Angræcum sesquipedale_ (an orchid), with bright irregular flowers; and the _Angræcum fragrans_, whose perfumed leaves supply a wholesome and savoury infusion. Finally, the _Heritiera argentea_, a tree about as large as our lindens, which certain botanists place among the Byttneriaceæ, and others among the Sterculiaceæ, is noticeable on account of its abundant foliage glittering silver-white. CHAPTER IV. VEGETABLE LIFE IN THE FORESTS OF THE NEW WORLD.