ARBUTUS. 71 



us from Ireland." Evelyn observes, as late 

 as the time of Charles the Second, that " the 

 arbutus is too much neglected by us, making 

 that a rarity which grows so common and 

 naturally in Ireland." It is found growing 

 spontaneously on rocky limestone situations, 

 in the west of Ireland, particularly in the 

 county of Kerry, near the lake of Killarney, 

 where the peasants eat the fruit. 



The arbutus is a native of the south of 

 Europe, Greece, Palestine, and many other 

 parts of Asia. It grows so plentifully about 

 Magnesia, as to be the principal fuel used by 

 the inhabitants. Bel ton says, it is common 

 in Crete, and between Aleppo and Antioch. 

 Wheeler observed it near Athens, and saw 

 the fruit in the market at Smyrna. In Con- 

 stantinople it is called komaria, which is nearly 

 preserving the Greek name. A friend, who 

 has resided there for some years past, informs 

 me, that the fruit is commonly offered for sale 

 in that capital, being threaded on a straw or 

 grass, as our peasants' children string birds' 

 eggs or wild strawberries. 



Horace celebrates the shade of this tree — 



"Nunc viridi membra sub arbuto 

 Stratus: 1 



" Stretched under the green arbutus." 



v 4 



