PROCEEDINGS OF THE HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. 675 



An ancient myth states that the cypress trees were the daughters of 

 Eteocles, who, when dancing in imitation of the goddesses, fell into a well, 

 whereupon Terra, the earth, taking pity upon their misfortune, produced 

 flourishing plants like the damsels, forming them for the delight of man 

 and for perpetuating their memory. 



Another mythological story tells us that Apollo had a beautiful and favor- 

 ite stag who was accustomed to be fed, either by Apollo himself, or by a 

 favorite attendant of his named Cyparissus. One day the youth, exercising 

 himself in practice at hurling the spear, unfortunately struck and killed 

 the stag, who had unexpectedly bounded from a neighboring grove, expect- 

 ing to be caressed as usual. The grief of Cyparissus was so great at this 

 untoward accident that he threw himself upon the ground in despair, and 

 refused the consolations of Apollo, whereupon, 



*' Praying in expiation of his crime 



Thenceforth to mourn for all succeeding time. 



And now of blood exhausted, he appears 



Drained by a torrent of continual tears; 



The fleshy color in his body fades, 



A greenish tincture all his limbs invades, 



From his fair head where circling ringlets hung, 



A tapering bush with spiry branches sjjrung. 



Which stiffening by degrees its stem extends 



'Till to the starry skies the spire ascends. 



Apollo saw, and sadly sighing cried : 



' Be thou forever what thy prayer implied. 



Bemoaned by me — in others grief excite — 



And still preside at every funeral rite.' " 



The juniper is the last of the coniferous trees to which I shall allude in 

 this connection. It was consecrated to the furies, and the ancients threw 

 its berries on the funeral piles of the dead in order to protect the departing 

 spirit from their evil influences. They also burnt its wood in their dwell- 

 ings to keep away demons. It was also offered in sacrifice to the infernal 

 deities, as it was thought they were fond of its perfume — an idea which I 

 wonder has not been taken hold of by Mr. Gough and other apostles of the 

 total abstinence movement — for it indicates that the infernal deities were 

 fond of gin, or of Wolfe's Schiedam Schnapps, which latter beverage Mr. 

 Wolfe assures us is flavored with the best Italian juniper berries, the iden- 

 tical classic berry, which if true leaves no doubt but that Schnapps is a 

 classic beverage. 



Kext to the cedar in classical and biblical association is the oak. A 

 chain of exalted remembrance is connected with it in the minds of all who 

 have read classical authors. It was held sacred alike by the Hebrews, the 

 Greeks and the Romans, 



In the scriptures we read of the groves of oaks planted by Abraham at 

 Beersheba, also of the oak of Moreh and the oak of Mamre in connection 

 with the liistory of Abraham. I would here observe that tlie Hebrew word 

 allun, elou or eilon, is by the best scholars now interpreted to mean the 

 oak tree, and not the plane tree as it is generally translated. One of the 

 most absurd and inexcusable errors is committed both by our &iglish and 

 American Bible Societies in their editions of tlie Bible in this respect. 

 Finding the word " allun " in some of the older English editions so trans- 



