FIR-TREE. 227 



mountaineer from the snow, whilst their 

 branches furnish him with fuel and torches. 



The fruit or seed of these trees is so 

 wonderfully protected by the formation of 

 their cones, against the inclemency of the 

 weather, that man evidently first borrowed 

 from them the idea of placing shingles, tiles, 

 and slates to the roofs of his dwellings. 



From the class Moncecia, in which these 

 trees are placed, the botanist will know that 

 they produce male and female flowers se- 

 parately, but on the same tree. The male 

 flowers are so productive of farina, that it has 

 sometimes been carried away by the winds, 

 in such quantities, as to alarm the ignorant 

 with the notion of its raining brimstone. 

 Clouds of this yellow dust may often be seen 

 hovering around these trees in the spring, 

 when the stigmas are ready to receive this 

 fructifying powder. 



The ancient Persians paid great attention 

 to the natural history of plants, and often 

 used them in allegory, both in writing and 

 speaking. Herodotus relates that Darius 

 sent word to the Greeks of Ionia, who were 

 laying waste the country, that if they did not 

 give over their depredations, he would treat 

 them like pines. The Greeks, who by this 

 time had become infected with wit, and had 



Q 2 



