CHAP. CXIII.

coni'ferjE. cuprf/ssus.

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to Theophrastus, it was dedicated to Pluto ; because the tree, when cut down,never throws up suckers; and hence also, perhaps, the custom mentioned byHorace, of shutting up in the tomb with the dead a branch of cypress, andenveloping the body in its fronds; though some suppose it to have originatedin the supposition that the balsamic odour of the cypress would neutralise theinfectious exhalations proceeding from the corpse. Among the Romans,many authors mention this tree. Pliny tells several extraordinary storiesrespecting the durability of its wood; the statue of Jupiter in the Capitol,which was formed of cypress, had existed above 600 years, without showingthe slightest symptom of decay; and the doors of the temple of Diana atEphesus , which were also of cypress, when 400 years old, had the appear-ance of being quite new. He also says that, in his time, the wood was usedfor many rural purposes, particularly for vine-props, for which the wood ofthe horizontal variety was preferred. He adds that the plantations of cy-press were cut down every 13 years, for poles, rafters, and joists ; which madethe wood so profitable, that a plantation of cypress was thought a sufficientmarriage portion for a daughter; and, hence, the tree was sometimes called“ dos filiae.” ( Plin ., lib. xvi. c. 33.) In another place, he informs us that theRomans made verdant walls of cypress in their gardens; and also that theyclipped the entire trees into a variety of forms, so as to represent a chase, afleet of ships, and numerous other fancies. He adds that, in his time, therewere standing at Rome some cypresses that were more ancient than the cityitself. Plato had his code of laws engraved on cypress wood, as being moredurable than brass. Vitruvius and Martial also speak of the great dura-bility and beauty of cypress timber. Columella mentions the various ruraluses of the cypress wood; and Cato (De Re Rustica ) gives directions formaking plantations of cypress trees, recommending the planters to procurethe seed from Tarentum. The odour of the cypress was thought so balsamic,that the Eastern physicians used to send those of their patients who had weaklungs to the Isle of Crete. In the middle ages, we find this tree frequentlymentioned. Leon Alberti, a celebrated Florentine architect of the fifteenthcentury, tells us that he found the wood of a vessel which had been submerged1300 years, and which was perfectly sound, to be principally of cypress. Thedoors of St. Peter at Rome , which had lasted from the time of Constantineto that of Eugene IV. (that is, above 1100 years), were of cypress, and werefound, when removed by Pope Eugene , to give place to brass, to be perfectlysound. The popes, in the middle ages, were buried in coffins of cypress wood,from the belief that it would never decay. The Turks plant cypress trees intheir cemeteries, one at each end of the grave, when they inter their dead; andthese are so numerous at Scutari, that the cemetery there (see Jig. 2323.) re-sembles one vast forest of cypress. This magnificent burying-ground extendsfor miles in length; and, among high and turbaned tombstones, gold-letteredinscriptions, and graves ornamented with flowers, the tall evergreen cypresshas a very striking effect. ( Alex. Trav., p. 240.) The cemetery at Pera (seefe. 2324.) is on a comparatively level surface : it is of great extent, borderedby the sea, and thickly set, in many places, with Turkish monuments, shadedby cypress trees.

The question as to whether the upright and spreading cypresses are thesame, or two distinct kinds, has long engaged the attention of botanists. Theo-phrastus says that they degenerate into each other, and both bear seeds alike.Pliny supposes C. s. horizontalis to be the male, and C. s.stricta to be the female;and his opinion seems to have been adopted by most of the earlier botanists.Gerard calls the upright, the tame cypress; and the spreading, the wild; butJohnson,in his edition of Gerard, seems to have supposed the upright cypress tohave been made so by art. Miller, writing nearly a century later, appears to bealmost of the same opinion, as he says: “ The cypresses were formerly plantedin the borders of pleasure-grounds, and kept shorn into a pyramidal or conicform; and some people, believing them to be subject to be killed if they cutthem, tied them up with cords into a pyramidal figure, which form they are

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