THE TAMARISK. 



183 



ble that it was introduced in some such way from 

 France, for it grows from cuttings as freely as 

 the Willow, provided that it be planted in 

 autumn or early in spring. On the continent, it 

 is said to grow in the greatest abundance on the 

 banks of rivers, but in England, it flourishes in 

 very dry situations, and will bear exposure to 

 any degree of wind, thriving best when within 

 reach of the sea-breeze. The stems and leaves 

 contain a large quantity of sulphate of soda, a 

 fact which accounts for its flourishing not only 

 in such situations, but in the valleys of Arabia, 

 where the springs are often impregnated with salt. 

 It is held in high estimation in that country, for 

 its medicinal properties, which appear to have 

 recommended it also to the Romans, and indeed 

 to some of our own countrymen, among whom 

 was Archbishop Grindall. 



The branches of the Arabian variety are com- 

 monly loaded with gall-nuts, which, before they 

 dry up, are full of a beautiful bright red sap, and 

 being exceedingly astringent, are collected and 

 used in dyeing. The people of Egypt generally 

 use the wood for fuel and building ; bowls and 

 drinking-vessels are also made of it. The Arabs 

 cultivate it on account of the hardness of the 

 wood, which they use for the saddles of their 

 camels, and for other articles that are exposed to 

 rough handling. Burckhardt, in the account of 

 his journey through the wilderness of Sinai, says, 

 that it grows in great profusion in a valley to the 

 north of Mount Serbal, and that the Arabs 

 obtain from it a substance which they call mann, 

 and which closely resembles the description of 

 the manna given in Scripture, In the month 



