THE POMEGRANATE. 



[Punica granatum.) 



The Pomegranate is tree-like, growing 

 to a height of about fifteen feet and in 

 favorable soil even as high as twenty feet. 

 It is probably native in Persia, though it 

 is found in a wild state in all the coun- 

 tries bordering on the Mediterranean 

 Sea. It is also found in China and Japan 

 and has been brought by man to all of 

 the civilized parts of the globe, where the 

 climate is of a sufficiently high degree of 

 warmth to permit the ripening of its 

 fruit. 



This little tree is frequently cultivated 

 not alone for the beauty of its form, but 

 for the beauty of its flowers, which, un- 

 der cultivation, become doubled and 

 show an increased and striking splendor 

 in the richness of their color. 



The etymology of its name is very in- 

 teresting. The word Pomegranate is 

 from two Latin words, pomum, meaning 

 apple, and granatum, meaning grained 

 or seeded. The former has reference to 

 the shape of the fruit and the latter word 

 to the numerous seeds contained in the 

 pulp. The technical name of the Pome- 

 granate plant is Punica granatum. The 

 generic name Punica is evidently from 

 the Latin word punicus, meaning red, and 

 refers to the red color of the pulp or possi- 

 bly also to the scarlet flowers. The name 

 Punicus was also used by the Romans 

 with reference to the Carthaginians, and 

 signified untrustworthy or treacherous, 

 this people having such a reputation with 

 them ; thus the name may have been ap- 

 plied to this fruit which, though it de- 

 lights the eye, is disappointing to the 

 taste. 



Pliny tells us that the Pomegranate 

 was extensively cultivated by the Cartha- 

 ginians at their home in Northern Af- 

 rica. This may have been the reason why 

 the name Punica was selected for the 

 genus by Linnaeus. The Romans also 

 called it "Pomum Punicum," or Car- 

 thage apple. 



That the knowledge of this tree is of 

 great antiquity is shown in many ways. 

 It is frequently referred to in ancient 

 Sanskrit writings of a time earlier than, 

 that of the Christian Era. In this lan- 

 guage it was called "Dadimba." Homer,, 

 in the Odyssey, speaks of its cultivation 

 in the gardens of the kings of Phrygia 

 and Phaecia. There are frequent refer- 

 ences to it in the Old Testament. In the 

 directions for making Aaron's robe we 

 find the following passages "Upon the 

 skirts of it thou shaft make pomegranates 

 of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet,'* 

 and again, "They made bells of pure gold, 

 and put the bells between the pome- 

 granates." Hiram, in the building of 

 Solomon's house, used the design of the 

 Pomegranate. In the seventh chapter of 

 the First Book of Kings we find "the 

 pomegranates were two hundred, in rows 

 round about upon the other chapiter," 

 and in another verse we are told that they 

 were of brass. 



Moses spoke of the promised land as 

 a land of "wheat, barley and vines, fig- 

 trees and pomegranates." Solomon in- 

 dicates that this fruit was cultivated in his 

 time as he speaks of an "orchard of pome- 

 granates with pleasant fruits." 



The Pomegranate is frequently repre- 

 sented in the ancient sculptures of the 

 Assyrians and of the Egyptians. 



The Pomegranate belongs to the fam- 

 ily of plants called Lythraceae. This 

 family has about three hundred and fifty 

 species which are widely distributed, but 

 are most abundant in tropical regions, 

 especially in America. In discribing the 

 tree Dr. Oliver R. Willis gives the fol- 

 lowing characteristics: "Branches- 

 straight, strong, sub-angular, armed near 

 the ends with spines ; young shoots and 

 buds red. Leaves opposite or fascicled, 

 short-stalked, and without stipules. 

 Flowers large, solitary, or two or three 

 together in the axils of the leaves, near 



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