14 TAMARISCINEiE— TAMARISK TRIBE 



it in several poems." Homer mentions it as the tree against which Achilles 



laid his spear before he rushed into the Xanthus to pursue the fleeing 



Trojans : — 



" So plunged in Xantlms, by Achilles' force, 

 Roars the resounding surge with men and horse ; 

 His bloody lance the hero cast aside, 

 Which spreading Tamarisks on the margin hide." 



Evelyn says that it was considered one of the unfortunate trees, and gives 

 that as the reason why its branches were in ancient times bound around the 

 head of the criminal. It is in England commonly called Sea Cypress ; but 

 though its foliage somewhat resembles that of the cypress, its mode of 

 growth, pale hue, and deciduous habit make it quite distinct even to the 

 unscientific eye. 



The Tamarisk has associations with scenes and times even earlier than 

 those of the Roman or Greek writers, for there is little doubt that it is the 

 Escliel or Ashd of the Scripture. The passage rendered in our Authorized 

 Version, "Now Saul abode in Gibeah, under a tree in Ramah," is translated 

 by Boothroyd, " Saul was sitting on a hill in Gibeah, under a Tamarisk-tree " 

 — a rendering thought by Dr. Kitto to be the correct one. The author 

 remarks that Saul preferred holding his court under the shadow of a tree, as 

 many an Oriental prince of modern days Avould do. This, too, is thought 

 to be the tree under which Saul and his sons were buried. Almost all 

 travellers in Eastern countries speak of the Tamarisk-tree as the Afhcl or 

 AtU of the Orientals. It is one of the very few trees which will flourish 

 and attain a good size in the soil of the desert. Large Tamarisks, called 

 Asul, are found all about Palestine, not graceful and slender as are those 

 of our country, but tall and sturdy as oaks. The exact species of Eastern 

 Tamarisks are not ascertained ; but if not mere varieties of our English 

 species, they are very nearly allied to it, and all have many points of 

 similarity. The tree has long been highly prized by the Arabs for the 

 medicinal uses of the galls which grow on its branches. The Tamarisk was 

 called Tovrfa by Aviceuna, and its astringent galls are praised in his works ; 

 they are also used in dyeing. In Egypt these trees are as large as oaks. 

 Sonnini tells us that not a village of Lower Egypt is without its Atles. 

 "There is," says this writer, "no other tree in the land which can in any 

 degree be termed common. It furnishes the timber for mechanical pur- 

 poses, and wood for fuel. Hence the Egyptians say, ' the world would go 

 Ijadly Avith them if Atles were to fail.' " They also make their bowls and 

 drinking-cups of its wood. 



Another interesting associatioii connected with the Tamarisk is, that it is 

 the only tree now found growing amid the ruins of Babylon. Ker Porter 

 thought that he discovered some traces of the celebrated hanging-gardens, 

 and on an artificial mound there stood a tree which the Arabs called Alhda. 

 It was hollow with age, and its branches bending downward gave to it the 

 aspect of a weeping willow. The boughs were graceful and richly verdant, 

 though its large trunk was old and rugged. Some travellers have described 

 this lonely relic of the ancient grandeur — this solitary tree — as a cedar, 

 others as a willow ; but Aucher, in 1835, gathered some specimens which he 



