THE TRUE CYPRESSES. 99 



ulhue-yut " (tree of life), and that its fruit and branchlets 

 are said to be a cure for all diseases, but that the profanation 

 of its divine timber, by any on to a useful purpose of economy 

 would be sure to bring down upon the individual sudden 

 death.* The Bhotiyas also hold it sacred, and call it " Surroo," 

 or " Soorah-vyu " (name divine), while on the other hand the 

 people of Kamaon, who seem to look more to temporal than 

 spiritual things, do not appear to hold this Cypress in much 

 religious veneration, but, on the contrary, use its timber freely 

 in their house-building, where it is considered very durable, 

 but too flexible for any position where it has to sustain a heavy 

 weight. The wood is yellowish red, exceedingly fragrant, close- 

 grained, tough, long-fibred, very hard, and considered equal to 

 that of the Deodar for durability ; the larger trees not unfre- 

 quently attain to an enormous size, some of them having a 

 girth of twenty-seven feet, but at its greatest altitude it gets 

 dwarfed down to a mere bush, and is nowhere to be found 

 bevond from 7000 to 8000 feet of elevation, and like the 

 Deodar, seems indifferent to geology, growing equally well 

 on clay-slate, dolomatic limestone, gneiss, and mica-slate ; but 

 a dry and somewhat sunny site seems essential for its full 

 development. 



Timber white, with a tint of red and yellow ; is exceedingly 

 fragrant, and considered equal to that of the Deodar for dura- 

 bility. Bark, reddish brown, peeling off in numerous long 

 stripes, and frequently appears twisted, which is supposed to 

 have suggested its specific name (torulosa). The wood and 

 branches are burnt in sacred rites, as incense, among the 

 Hindoos, both to please the gods, and scare away evil demons. 



* Major Madden relates, while travelling in Kooloo and the Ladakh 



i country, some of his people had begun to strip the cypress trees of their 



dry branches for fuel, when one of the conductors of his caravan came to 



him in great agitation, and implored him to command the men to desist, 



Jas the trees, he said, were sacred to the deities of the elements, who would 



|be sure to revenge any injury done to them, by visiting them with heavy 



mows and bad weather on their journey. 



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