186 



THE TAMARISK. 



a ruin amid ruins ; nevertheless it bears spreading 

 and evergreen branches, which are peculiarly 

 beautiful, being adorned with long tress-like ten- 

 drils, resembling heron-feathers, growing from 

 a central stem. These slender and delicate sprays 

 bending towards the ground, give the whole the 

 appearance of a Weeping-willow, while their gen- 

 tle waving in the wind, whenever a breeze blows, 

 produces a low and melancholy sound. Some 

 travellers call it a Cedar; others say that it is a tree 

 the like of which is not to be found elsewhere ; 

 ■finally, a very ancient tree, perhaps even as old as 

 the time of Herodotus (b.c. 440). This tree, ac- 

 cording to dried specimens gathered by Aucher 

 in 1835, is the Tamarix pycnocarpa. Other spe- 

 cies of Tamarisk grow in those countries ; among 

 others, Tamarix corticulata^ as well as Tamarix 

 Gallica, which last is found almost everywhere. 



The Tamarisk was by the Greeks called Myr- 

 ica ; but the plant known to modern botanists by 

 this name is a low shrub, composed of numerous 

 upright stems, and producing in spring abundance 

 of purplish brown catkins, which appear before 

 the leaves begin to expand. It is commonly 

 known as Dutch Myrtle or Sweet Gale, and to the 

 latter name at least it is justly entitled, for 

 both at the season when it is in flower, as well as 

 when it is in leaf, it diffuses a rich aromatic 

 perfume, which scents the air to a great distance. 



" And as lie flies, 

 Like the winged shaft, the wanton zephyrs breathe 

 Delicious fragrance ; for upon his banks, 

 Beautiful ever, — Nature's hand has thrown 

 The odorous Myrica." Carrington. 



The catkins and leaves, when bruised, are clammy 



