THE CYPRESS. 



47-5 



that at Brabume churchyard, in Kent, was nearly 

 twenty feet diameter, although it had been dis- 

 mantled by storms ; and at Sutton, near Win- 

 chester, there was, as Evelyn quaintly says, 

 " such another monster." At Hedsor, in Buck- 

 inghamshire, there was lately, if there be not 

 still, one in health and vigour, full twenty-seven 

 feet in diameter. In the woods of Cliefden, near 

 Hedsor, there are some extraordinary remains of 

 these trees, whose roots, apparently of vast age, 

 twine about the chalk rocks in the most fantas- 

 tic shapes. 



Considering the immense size to which the 

 yew grows, and the strength, durability, and 

 even beauty of its timber, one cannot help regret- 

 ting that, when those great trees shall have yielded, 

 as yield they must, to the destructive power of 

 time, there should not be a succession. It is true 

 that, in consequence of the great improvement 

 of the iron manufacture, and the cheapness of 

 that article, it can be applied to many purposes 

 for which the great strength of the yew was well 

 adapted. 



The custom of clipping yews into fantiistic 

 shapes was much practised in the sixteenth and 

 seventeenth centuries. Some of our churchyards 

 still have their yew trees thus cut into the pre- 

 tended likenesses of birds and beasts. At Bed- 

 font, in Middlesex, there are two celebrated trees, 

 whose branches are annually shaped into some- 

 thing like the form of a peacock, with a date 

 C17O8) showing when this piece of useless labour 

 was first performed. The Romans, as we learn 

 from Pliny's letters, cut their evergreens into 

 the fantastic shapes of birds and beasts. Lord 

 Bacon, with his wonted good sense, protested 

 against this practice, which was the fashion of 

 his time. " I, for my part," he says in his 

 Essays, "do not like images cut out in juni- 

 per and other garden stuff; they be for chil- 

 dren. 



The Cypress ("cupressus sempermrensj. The 

 cypress obtains its name from the island of 



17s. 



The Cypress, 



Cyprus, where it grows in great abundance; the 

 ever"Teen cj'^iress is also a common tree in the 

 Levant. It was planted by the Moors around 

 their palaces, and both by the ancient and modern 



Romans as an ornamental tree around their villas. 

 Of this species there are two varieties, the upright 

 and the spreading, the last attaining a larger size 

 than the other, and being thus more valuable as 

 a timber tree. It thrives best in a wann, sandy, 

 or gravelly soil; and though it has not been 

 much cultivated in England as a timber tree, 

 yet it seems well adapted for many situations in 

 the southern parts of the kingdom. It is true 

 that, in the early stages of its growth, it has 

 been supposed to fall a victim to the keen frosts 

 of our climate; yet Evelyn says that he had 

 upwards of a thousand cypress trees in his gar- 

 den, and did not lose more than three or four of 

 them during the uncommonly severe winters of 

 1663 and 1665. 



Of all timber, that of the cypress is generally 

 supposed to be the most durable, superior even 

 to that of the cedar itself. The doors of St 

 Peter's church at Rome, which had been formed 

 of this material in the time of Constantine, 

 showed no sign of decay when, after the lapse of 

 eleven hundred years. Pope Eugenius IV. took 

 them down to replace them by gates of brass. 

 In order to preserve the remains of their heroes, 

 the Athenians buried them in coffins of cypress; 

 and the chests or coffins in which the Egyptian 

 mummies are found are usually of the same mate- 

 rial. Cypress is a handsome timber. Though 

 hard, it is elastic, and, therefore, would answer 

 well for musical instruments. For furniture, it 

 would be equal even to mahogany ; for though 

 not so beautiful in its colour, it is stronger, resists 

 the worm equally, and its odour repels insects 

 from whatever may be contained in a cabinet or 

 chest made of it. For building, there is no tim- 

 ber superior to the cypress, which lasts almost 

 as long as stone itself; accordingly, where it is 

 found in great abundance, it is very much used 

 for that purpose. The cypress is reputed to live 

 to a great age; and though the precise period 

 has not been ascertained, the fact of its being 

 planted over the graves of the dead, and carried 

 in funeral processions, as an emblem of immor- 

 tality, is a proof that its duration must be very 

 considerable. 



The White Cedar is a native of America, where 

 it grows to a considerable size, but it grows 

 slowly, being eighty years old before it is fit for 

 timber; and even then, though it answers well 

 for hoops, small boats, roofing, and some other 

 purposes, it does not appear very worthy of 

 cultivation as a timber tree. But it is hardy, 

 and forms a good variety in clumps of evergreens. 



Arbor Vitoe (thuja occidentalisj . The wood 

 of this tree, which gives out when burnt an 

 agreeable odour, was used by the ancients at their 

 sacrifices ; and hence the name from the Greek 

 word thuo, to sacrifice. 



The common arbor vitse is a well known ever- 

 green shrub in this country. In Canada, its 



