321 



served at Copenhagen. Seventy-four years later a French botan- 

 ist, P. E. Botta, collected in southern Arabia and his plants are 



now in the Mi 



4 



Erenberg and 



In 1825 G. 



Q 



valleys and their collections are among the most valuable in the 

 Berlin museum. Albert Denflers traveled through Yemen in 

 1887 and during the winter of 1888-89 Dr. Schweinfurth collected 

 920 species and confirmed many of Forskal's discoveries. The 

 ancient Egyptians cultivated certain trees, dedicated to certain 

 divinities, and among them were the Persea of the ancient Greeks 

 {Mimusops Schimperi,) and the Sycamore ; the leaves and fruit 

 of both trees having been frequently found in ancient tombs, 

 where they had been deposited as offerings. The " Persea " (not 

 to be confounded with Persea gratissiina, Gaertn.) has for cen- 

 turies disappeared from Egypt, but the Sycamore is still found 

 there in large quantites, though only in cultivation. The region 

 of the Upper Nile, rich as it is in Fig-tree species having charac- j 



teristics that bring them into close relation to the Sycamore, has 



not as yet shown any in a wild state that might be considered its 

 ancestor. Dr. Schweinfurth gathering from Forskal's notes that 

 in Arabia were to be found species allied to the Egyptian Syca- 

 more, was especially interested in searching for them and learned 

 that the Fig-tree, known as " Chanes " in the mountains and as 

 " Bourra " on the plains, is identical with the Egyptian tree which 

 incontestably has its origin there. He also found the " Persea " 

 growing wild and called " Lebbakh," a term used by the Arab 

 geographers of the middle ages and which to-day in Egypt is 

 appied to an Acacia introduced from India {Albizzia Lebbck,) 

 and is now as " Lebbakh," a widespread roadside tree. 



The fact that there are in Arabia to-day trees indigenous to 

 the country that several centuries ago, and for three thousand 

 years were considered as sacred in Egypt, may possibly throw 

 great Hght on the ancient relations of the two countries. 



A. M. V. 



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