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The CoiiJitiy Gentleman s Magazine 



|]lantatiou6 auii gjciigts. 



TREES AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS. 



BY WILLIAM STEVENSON, ESQ. OF NOTTINGHA>L 



BY the common consent of mankind, 

 trees have been selected as affording 

 the most appropriate emblems of the passions 

 l>y which both States and individuals have 

 been swayed. How, then, is it possible, even 

 in these lettered days, bearing their age, im- 

 ])ortance, or varied beauties in mind, to look 

 upon them without feelings of reverence ? 

 How many, not merely generations of men, 

 but whole nations, have adopted trees in 

 some form as objects of veneration. From 

 the humblest minds to those most elevated ; 

 from the remotest antiquity to the present 

 time, they have occupied a prominent 

 position, and as lords of the vgetable king- 

 dom they cannot fail to hold their traditional 

 sway over the passions of mankind. 



In the present instance we shall not touch 

 upon their artistic merits — the green spring 

 tint of the elm, the glowing hue of the Scotch 

 fir, the yellow anthus of the ash, the orange 

 of the beech, and the many bright and fad- 

 ing hues of the woods, so dear to artists, 

 must be passed over in silence. Our object is 

 to treat upon their many associations with 

 seasons of mirth or sadness, and religious 

 observances. 



In taking the subject in this sectional form, 

 we find it a matter of importance, and of such 

 extent, that we must content ourselves with a 

 glance at its various headings. 



The plan of my lecture will bear com- 

 parison with events of hourly occurrence in 

 our walks of life, as I shall present you with 

 the bright or mirthful side in its introduction, 

 and close with the one shaded in sadness. 

 This may be a questionable step, still I may 

 plead extenuation. I hold that sadness is 

 the companion of solitude, and that solitude 

 is associated with study. Thus, by a simple 



arrangement, based upon the commonest laws 

 of logic, I may send you home, if not more 

 strongly embued with religious zeal, at least 

 converts to the study of botany in its histori- 

 cal and lyrical branches. "Trees," says the 

 Roman naturalist, Pliny, " afforded the first 

 inducement to the barbarous tribes of Gaul to 

 cross the Alps, and spread themselves over 

 Italy. A certain Swiss once came to Rome 

 to learn the art of a smith, and on his return 

 took with him raisins, dried figs, oil, and 

 wine ; the taste of which incited his country- 

 men to invade Italy with a hostile army." Who 

 would have thought it possible that a tree 

 .should have been brought from a remote 

 region of the earth for the sake of its shade 

 only ? Yet such was the case. The plane tree 

 was first carried across the Ionian Sea to 

 shade the tomb of Diomede, who was buried 

 in one of the small islands off the coast of 

 Apuha, where it long formed an interesting 

 monument to that hero. 



We are told of an antient king who was 

 marching a vast army through a district 

 abounding Avith plane trees, with one of which 

 he became so enamoured, that he caused his 

 army to halt, whilst he in acknowledgment 

 of its beauty, had a gold band placed around 

 it. It is recorded that this slavish adoration 

 of a tree so delayed the march that they were 

 vanquished in the next battle. In modern 

 times we are told that the great Napoleon, 

 inexorable in his will, so reverenced an 

 ancient cypress tree at Soma, in Lombardy, 

 that when laying down the plan for his great 

 road across the Simplon, diverged from the 

 straight line to avoid injury to this tree. 



It may not be amiss to notice those trees 

 which contribute to the pleasures of Christ- 

 mas and other festive seasons of the 



