Chap. 45.]' TREES WniCH BEAR NO FRUIT. 385 



CHAP. 44. TREES "WHICH BEAR THE WHOLE YEAR. TREES WHICH 



HAVE ON THEM THE FRUIT OF THREE TEARS. 



The citron- tree, 9 the juniper, and the holm-oak are looked 

 upon as having fruit on them, the whole year through, and 

 upon these trees we see the new fruit hanging along with that 

 of the preceding year. The pine, however, is the most re- 

 markable of them all ; for it has upon it at the same moment 

 the fruit that is hastening to maturity, the fruit that is to 

 come to maturity in the ensuing year, and the fruit that is to 

 ripen the next year but one. 10 Indeed, there is no tree that 

 is more eager to develope its resources ; for in the same month 

 in which a nut is plucked from it, another will ripen in the 

 same place ; the arrangement being such, that there is no 

 month in which the nuts of this tree are not ripening. Those 

 nuts which split while still upon the tree, are known by the 

 name of azanias ; n they are productive of injury to the others, 

 if not removed. 



CHAP. 45. TREES WHICH BEAR NO FRUIT: TREES LOOKED UPON 



AS ILL-OMENED. 



The only ones among all the trees that bear nothing what- 

 ever, not so much as any seed even, are the tamarisk, 12 which 

 is used only for making brooms, the poplar, 13 the alder, the 

 Atinian elm, 14 and the alaternus, 15 which has a leaf between 

 that of the holm-oak and the olive. Those trees are regarded 

 as sinister, 16 and are considered inauspicious, which are never 

 propagated from seed, and bear no fruit. Cremutius informs 

 us, that this tree, being the one upon which Phyllis 17 hanged 



9 See B. xii. c. 7. 



10 This supposed marvel merely arises from the fact that the fruit has a 

 strong ligneous stalk, which almost precludes the possibility of its drop- 

 ping off. This is the case, too, not only with the pine, hut with numerous 

 other trees as well. 



11 "Dried" nuts. 12 See B. xxiv. c. 41. 



13 But in B. xxiv. c. 32, he speaks of the fruit of the black poplar as an 

 antidote for epilepsy. In fact, he is quite in error in denying a seed to 

 any of these trees. 14 See c. 29 of this Book. 



15 The Rhamnus alaternus of Linnaeus, the Phylica elatior of C. Bauhin. 

 In reality, it bears a small black berry, of purgative qualities. 



16 " Infelices," "unhappy" rather. 



17 Daughter of Sithon, king of Thrace, who hanged herself on account 

 of the supposed inconstancy of her lover, Demophoon. See Ovid, Heroid. 2. 



vol. in c c 



