"SWEET SUMMER BUDS" 217 



a religious significance in connection with several 

 Oriental cults. 



The tree was abundant in ancient Egypt and the 

 fruit was such a favorite of the Israelites that one 

 complaint against the desert into which Moses led 

 them was the charge that it was "no place of pome- 

 granates," and Moses had to soothe the malcontents 

 by promising that the pomegranate would be among 

 the delights of Canaan, "a land of wheat and bar- 

 ley, vines and fig-trees and pomegranates, a land of 

 olive oil and honey." The pomegranate was one 

 of the commonest fruits of Canaan, and several 

 places were named after it Rimmon. The Jews 

 employed the pomegranate in their religious cere- 

 monies. On the hem of Aaron's sacred robe pome- 

 granates were embroidered in blue and purple and 

 scarlet alternating with golden bells, an adorn- 

 ment that was copied from the ancient kings of 

 Persia. The pomegranate was also carved on the 

 capitals of the pillars of the Temple of Jerusalem. 

 Solomon said to his bride, "I will cause thee to drink 

 of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranates." 

 There is a tradition that the pomegranate was the 

 fruit of the Tree of Life and that it was the pome- 

 granate that Eve gave to Adam. 



