The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-04 00:00:00

ON THE ANTIQUITY OF TREES

The longevity of trees is a subject of interest, to the know-
ledge of which a value must be justly attached, when it is
known that some trees were contemporary with the oldest
generations of mankind. They have, in certain cases, thrown
light on the history of monuments ; as the monuments in re-
turn have reflected the same light of knowledge on those an-
cient trees that grew near them. The specimens of these
patriarchs of the vegetable world are numerous, and if their
immense age be only ascertained with precision, there will
even be found in these facts some means of fixing an approx-
imative date to the last revolutions of the globe.
The Cedars—Those on Lebanon, measured in 1660 by
Maundrel and Pocok, were supposed to be then about 609
years old, and about 800 years old in 1787, when again seen
by M. Labellordiere.
The Lime is an European tree which, in a given time, ap-
pears able to acquire the largest diameter. That of the
Chateau of Cbaille near Melles, in the department of the
Deux-Sevres, was in 180-1 about 538 years old ; that of Trons
in the Grisons in 1798, must have been about 583 years old ;
that of Depeham, near Norwich, and of Henstalt in Wur-
temberg, were also very aged, last needing props. The large
and small leaved limes must be distinguished between, as the
former grows faster than the latter. .

The Cypresses, among the trees in the south of Europe,
live to the most advanced age. Hunter says that, in 1776,
there existed in the garden of the Palace of Grenada, cy-
presses that were celebrated even in the time of the Moorish
kings, and which were named Cupressos de la Regna Sultana
—from a sultaness who was seen under it with the Abencer-
rages. The largest now known is near the Lago Maggiore.
The immense cypress of Chapultepec, which, it is said, has
attained 117 feet 10 inches round, is probably the most an-
cient 'vegetable production of the globe.
The Sweet Chesnuts appear to grow to a great age. PEe-
derte says he saw one in the county of Gloucester, which was
supposed to be nearly 900 years old. (This is the Tortworth
Chesnut at Lord Ducie's.) Bosc mentions one near Lan
cerre 30 feet round, and which has for 600 years borne the
title of the " Great Chesnut."

The Orange and Lemon are among the European trees of
the slowest growth and the greatest age. It is stated that
the orange tree in the Convent of Santa Sabina at Rome,
was planted by St. Domenico in 1200, and that of Fondi by
St. Thomas d Aquinas in 1278.
The Olive is a tree that can live to an astonishing age, in
any country, where it is not liable to be pruned. M. de
Chateaubriand says, in his " Itinerary," that the eight olive
trees in the garden of that name in Jerusalem, only pay eabh
a medin to the Grand Seignior, which proves that they ex-
isted at the period of the invasion of the Turks • for those
planted since that time pay a tax of half their produce. The
largest olive tree mentioned in Italy by Pecconi is at Pescio ;
this tree, according to Moschettini, must be 700 years old.
The Yew appears, of all European trees, to attain the
greatest age. Of these venerable trees there are several in
England, whose ages have been ascertained :
Those of the ancient Abbey of Fountains, near Ripon, in
Yorkshire, were in 1770, more than twelve centuries old.
Those of the churchyard of Crowhurst in Surrey, if they
still exist, must be fourteen centuries and a half old.
Those of Fotheringay, in Scotland, must be reckoned at
from twenty-five to twenty-six centuries.—Fortingale.
It is possible that these are the oldest specimens of Euro-
pean vegetation. Century after century they have continued
to draw up from the earth their mighty nourishment ; on
their green umbrageous heads the rains and dews of thousand
ymeoanrsumhaevnets of wonderfallen, andttho the
eynogwensetraantdio,
generations
st
ofth the present
—iu dirrayo,r.as

GIGANTIC OAT.—On Monday a stem of oats was plucked
from afield belonging to Mr. W. Walmsley, of Heaton Moor,
measuring 6 ft. 6 in. in height, and strong in proportion.—
Stockport Advertiser.

DISCOVERY OF ANTIQUES IN WALLACHIA.—A letter
which M. Saint-Marc Girardin has received from Bucharest
contains some interesting particulars of an archaeological dis-
covery recently made in Wallachia. The letter is from M.
Billecocq, consul-general of France in the principalities of
the Danube, and states, that at a distance of two or three
leagues N.W. of Bonzeo, a small town of Wallachia, situate
on the road from Bucharest to Jassy, some peasants found
several objects in the fields where they were at work, which
they supposed to be of common metal, and therefore sold the
most massive for a trifle to one of those troops of Bohemians
who travel the country, exercising the profession of farriers
and tinkers. " This utensil, which by its form might be
taken for a vast water-jug, was broken up with a hatchet by
its new proprietors, for the purpose of satisfying themselves
as to the nature of the metal, and the use to which they could
turn it. It was of pure gold, as were all the other objects
found at the same time, and remaining in the hands of the
peasants. The prince, when at length he heard of these facts,
instituted inquiries on the subject, and all the articles were
given up to his agents ; but to this day it has been impossible
to obtain from the peasants the knowledge of the exact spot
at which the discovery was made. Even threats of criminal
proceedings and punishment have failed. I send you a com-
plete list of these fine antiques, and drawings of some of them.
I say antiques, because the mythological representations
which they bear justify me in at once assigning the whole of
them to ancient art. On one of the collars, of which I send
you a drawing, there is an inscription which might prove a
very valuable indication ; but to all here it is unintelligible.
Even at Vienna the inscription has been pronounced undeci-
pherable ; but I should think it will be read at the Institute."
The list accompanying the letter contains a very detailed ac-
count of the various objects recovered from the peasants and
Bohemians ; all which are of gold, some ornamented with
crystal and coloured stones. They include two rings or large
circles—a gorget or breastplate—four lamps, one representing
a falcon, two the goddess Iris, and the fourth without figured
ornament; three vases with handles, a plateau or tray, and a
patera.—Athenceurn.
HOME SICKNESS.—One case is recorded in which a Breton
regiment, who were quartered in barracks, I forget where,
lost a considerable number of men by sickness, entirely
brought on by pining for their homes. The hospitals were
crowded, and it was thought that it would be absolutely
necessary to have disbanded the regiment, when some clever
fellow, more capable, probably, of comprehending the na-
ture of the feelings, under the violence of which these men
were perishing, than the other medical attendants, bethought
him of sending for two or three Breton bagpipers, who
were placed beneath the hospital windows, and there
directed to, play some of the popular national airs. The
effect was magical. The sick men dragged themselves from
their beds, first to the windows, and soon down to the court
below. In every case health was re-established; and it was
found that the continued practice of indulging the men, at a
certain hour daily, with the familiar strains of their much-
loved instrument, afforded a sufficient relief to their over-
flowed feelings,, to prevent a recurrence of the disastrous
consequences of their total suppression.—Trollope's Sum-
mer in Brittany.

STATE OF THE JEWS IN `PERSIA.—I conversed repeat-
edly and freely with the Khakham, or Chief Rabbi, and others
of their chief men, and was struck more deeply than ever
with the terrible fulfilment of prophecy in their instance.
Their common occupations at Hamadan are as workers in
silver, twisters of silk, and sellers of old coins. They are ex-
tremely ignorant, and wear that cringing and slavish de-
meanour which is everywhere the badge of oppression. They
know little even about themselves. They dress like the Per-
sians, and when abroad, speak Persian or Turkish, but at
home Hebrew. I asked the rabbi whether they had any tra-
dition among them of the time when their ancestors came to
this country. He said that they belonged to the tribe of
Judah, and were descended from the Jews who were brought
captive into these regions. "And where are the ten tribes?"
I asked. " A part of them were in Bokhara, and the rest
are scattered.' " But why do you not return to the land of
your fathers ? " "We are waiting for the Messiah, who
will restore us with all our race." I pointed him to Jesus of
Nazareth, but the old man only hung his head and sighed.
I asked him again, why, if they were so oppressed as he re-
presented, they did not remove into some other country. He
replied that they could not leave the city without a written
permission from the governor, which it was impossible to
procure ; that, if they attempted to escape, they should be
overtaken and brought back, and that their misery would be
greatly aggravated. They have three synagogues in Hama-
dan. A fourth has recently been erected, but was at once
torn down by the Mussulmans.— Southgate's Travels in
Turkey and Persia.
ROYAL POET.—The late Shah was in some respects a re-
markable man. He possessed most of the good and bad qua-
lities of a Persian. He was vain, and fond of flattery, ima-
ginative and devoted to pleasure, yet shrewd, affable, and
dignified ; capable of the most arbitrary acts, yet not cruel ;
excessively proud of his personal appearance ; fond of show
and regal state, yet not an oppressive or tyrannical ruler. He
professed to be a poet, and I remember to have seen a volume
of his productions in the bazars at Tehran. A Persian related
to me one day the follbwing anecdote, as illustrative of
the character of his efforts in this department of literature.
He had just completed a new performance in metre, which
he flattered himself possessed peculiar excellence. Calling,
therefore, for the court poet, whom, after the manner of the
East, he had constantly attached to his person, he read the
poem before him, and demanded his opinion. The poet, fear-
ing lest his own emoluments should be endangered by this
growing propensity of the Shah to rhyme for himself; and
bring also a man of uncommon honesty, expressed a very un-
favourable criticism upon the piece. The Shah, enraged at
the audacity with which he spoke the truth, ordered his ser-
vants to conduct him to the stable, and tie him up with a
donkey. The poor poet remained in this dolorous situation
several days, when he was again ordered into the royal pre-
sence, and his opinion asked upon another performance which
the Shah had perpetrated during his confinement. The poet
listened in silence, and when it was finished, venturing no
more to express his opinion openly, he fell upon his knees
before the King, and implored that he might be sent back to
the stable.—Southgate's Travels in Turkey and Persia.
PERSIAN DERVISHES.—We saw also large numbers of
the Persian dervishes in the city. These religious mendi-
cants resemble more the santons and fakirs of India than the
dervishes of Turkey. They are not, like the latter, gathered
into communities, but roam over the country, living upon
I charity, and practising villanies of every sort. They carry
with them a horn, which they blow on approaching a town,
and a little wooden vessel, in which they receive their alms.
They are not respected by the people, and are exceedingly
insolent. They are clamorous in demanding charity, and
sometimes sit down before a house with the determination
not to quit it until money is given. There they remain, day
after day, and week after week, execrating the inmates, until
their demand is granted, or they are beaten away. One sat
in this manner more than three months before the British
residency in Bagdad. A story was told me at Tehran of
another, who placed himself in a niche of the wall in front
of the ambassador's palace. His incessant importunities
becoming troublesome, and it not being thought safe to oust
him by force, a curious expedient was devised. The ambas-
sador gave orders that the niche should be bricked up. The
dervish was warned of the intention, but persisted in main-
taining his position until the wall had advanced as high as
his chin, when he thought it prudent to ask a release. In
another instances at Shiraz, a dervish had taken his station
at the foot of the flag-staff, where his clamour soon became
annoying. The agent quietly gave orders that the staff
should be washed every Morning, and a man was sent up for
the purpose, who poured down pails full of water, until the
intruder beneath was glad to decamp.—Southgate's Travels
in Turkey and Persia.
TEMPERANCE.—The chief cause of most of the diseases to
which the human body is subject, is a superabundant acid in
the stomach; and that superabundance of acid is occasioned
by overloading the stomach with food or drink. For the
stomach can digest only a certain portion of food in a given
time, namely, that which is in contact with its sides ; all the
rest must wait its turn, consequently if the stomach be over-
loaded, the superabundant food will ferment and generate an
acid; and the portion of food thus fermented and converted
into acid, when it comes, in its turn, to be spread over the
sides of the stomach. for the purpose of being converted into
chyme, frets and irritates the stomach by the acrid and cor-
rosive qualities, and very often produces inflammation, more
or less violent, which is indicated either by heartburn, eruc-
tation, stomach-ache, or other distressing sensation. Nor is
this the whole of the injury. If the effects of the acid be not
arrested, all the organs which sympathize with the stomach
partake of the distress, in proportion to their previous con-
stitutional strength or debility. Numerous instances occur
in medical annals of death having been occasioned by inor-
dinate eating. Sir Everard Home mentions an instance of a
child losing its life from eating too large a quantity of apple-
pudding. Morgagni relates an account of a like fate happen-
ing to a woman from eating too large a quantity of onions
preserved in salt and vinegar. And Bonnetus, in his Sepul-
chrum, states the case of a boy who died in three hours from
eating immoderately of grapes. In each case, the stomach,
when opened, was quite tense, and consequently its powers
of action perfectly paralyzed.—Hand Book of Health.

GRAND JUNCTION RAILWAY

The following are the Times of Departure from Lime-street,
Liverpool, and from Liverpool-road, Manchester :

TIMES OF DEPARTURE

FROM LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER TO BIRMINGHAM
3 30 a.m. First Class, joins London Train at 8 30 a.m
6 a.m. Mixed f t
8 15 a.m. First Class „
10 30 a.m. First Class
12 15 p.m. First Class 91
4 p.m. Mixed
7 p.m. First Class
FROM BIRMINGHAM TO LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER
2 15 a.m. First Class—Meets N. Union Train to Preston
at Parkside.

1 15 p.m
4 p.m.
6 p.m

6 a.m. Mixed Train do. do. do.
11 30 a.m. First Class
2 15 p.m. First Class
2 45 p.m. First Class—Meets N. Union Train to Preston
at Parkside.

3 30 p.m. Mixed
3 p.m. First Class

On Sunday the Departures will be

3 30 a.m. First Class, joins London Train at 8 30 a.m
8 15 a.m. Mixed 19 99 1 30 p.m
10 30 a.m. „
7 p.m. „ ~12
91
2 15 a.m. First Class
7 30 a.m. Mixed
11 30 a.m. „

245 p.m. ,
The Trains on Sundays stop at First Class Stations only

LIVERPOOL AND MANCHESTER RAILWAY

FROM L'POOL TO MANCNCSTER. FROM MANCILE3TER TO L'r o of—
First Class Second Class First Class Second Class
Morning.. 7 0 Morning -- Morning.. 7 0 Morning
845 „ —lO 0 9 „ .. 10 0 ~
IP
11
0 ~ ..11 45 „ I, 15 „ .. 11 45 „
2 0 Aftern. .. 230 Aftern. 2 0 Aftern. .. *2 45 Aftern.
445 „ .. 530 ~ 5 0 „ .. sso ~
715 Evening .. 715 Mixed 1 715 Evening .. 715 Mixed I
Stop only at Newton &Prkside I Stop only at Newton & Prkside I
* Except on Saturdays, when this Train does not start till Three.

ON suNDAvs.
First Class Second Class I First Class Second Class
8 0 Morning.. 7 0 Morning I 8 0 Morning. • 7 0 Mornin
5 0 Aftern. .. 5 30 Aftern. 5 0 Aftern. .. 5 30 Aftern.
715 Evening .. 715 Mixed 1 715 Evening .. 715 Mixed 1
top only at Newton & Prkside f Stop only at Newton & Prkside,
1
TO PRESTON AND.WIGAN
PROM LIVERPOOL. --
8 45 Morning.. First Class
11 0 „
91
2 30 Aftern. .. Second Class
4 45 „ .. Mixed
7 15 ~ .. First Class

•FROM MANCHESTER.
0 Morning.. First Class
11 15 ~ • •
2 45 Aftern. .. Second Class
5 0 „ . • Mixed
First Class

I 7 15

7 0 Morning..
5 30 Afternoon

ON S UNDAYS•
7 0 Morning.. . . Mixed
5 30 Afternoon „
T 0 BOLTON.

PRICES OF SHARES, AUGUST 3.
Prices. This day Last
RAILWAYS, &c. Per Share. Prices.
Bolton and Leigh lOO paid
Bolton and Preston
Birmingham and Gloucester
Ditto and Derby lOO .... so o 0
Birkenhead and Chester
Ditto, new l5 14 11 0 19 15 0
Dublin and Drogheda
Eastern Counties
Edinburgh and Glasgow
Ditto Leigh and Newhaven 9 paid
Glasgow, Paisley, & Greenock 17 paid 19 5 0 ....
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmar l 30 paid 32 10 0 ....
Greenock, and Ayr
Grand Junction
Ditto half shares 49 114 0 0 ....
Ditto quarter shares (late
Chester and Crewe)
Great Western 65 103 0 0 .... 100 10 0
Ditto new shares 4O .... 55 10 0 ....
Hull and Selby
Leicester and Swannington 5O .... 71 0 0 ....
Lancaster and Preston 42 10 0 33 5 0 ....
Ditto, new
Liverpool and Manchester
Ditto quarter shares
Ditto half shares
London and Birmingham 9O .... 186 0 0 .... 175 0 0
Ditto new shares
Ditto quarter shares
Ditto and Southampton 39 .... 58 10 0 ...
Ditto & Brighton
Manchester and Leeds 6O .... 88 10 0 ....
Ditto half shares
Ditto, (new)
Manchester, Bolton, & Bury
Manchester and Birmingham 3O .... 20 15 0 ....
Ditto and Ditto Extension
Midland Counties
Newcastle and Carlisle lOO .... • • • •
Ditto quarter shares
North Midland
New North Midland 3O .... 33 5 0 ....
Paris and Rouen ... 0•• • - 2 8 9•• • .
South Eastern and Dover .... 23 .... 8 15 0 ....
North Union
St. Helen's and Runcorn Gap lOO paid 0 0 0 ....
York and North Midland 5O paid 67 10 0 ....

BANKS.
Royal Bank of Liverpool 500 770 9 0 ex div
Bank of Liverpool .#l2 lOs paid 21 0 oex div
- Commercial of Liverpool .10 17 2 6 ....
- Liverpool Union lO .... 12 10 0
- Northern and Central

- Albion
- North and South Wale 3 so .... 6 5 0 ....
- of Manchester lO .... 10 2 6 ,
- M'chester & L'pool Dsct. 15 .... 10 12 6
- South Lancashire
Liverpool Banking Company
Borough Bank lO .... 14 17 6 ....
Commercial Bank of England 5 .... 3 2 6 ....
East of England lO . 8 0 0 ....
Phcenix Bank
Wilts and Dorset 7 los.

GAS, WATER WORKS, &c.
Exchange Building's
L'pool and Harrington Water } 350 477 10
Works
Bootle Ditto Stock.... 325 0 0 ...
L'pool Coal Gas Company stock.... 380 0 0 ....
L'pool New Gas & Coke Co. .elOO .... 188 0 0 ....
Ditto new shares are now paid up.
ASSURANCE COMPANIES.
Liverpool Marine Assurance 125 paid 3 2 6 ....
Company
Ocean Assurance Company.... 10 .... 5 10 0 ex div,
Liverpool Fire and Life 2 10s. 1 11 0 ex div.
DOCKS, FERRIES, NEW COMPANIES, &c.
Anderton Carrying Company l5 ....
Woodside Ferry
Egremont Ferry l2 10s. ... •
Rock Ferry
Monk's Ferry
Steam Tug Company lO . . 7 17 6 ... •
Harrington Docks lOO .... 57 0 0 .•••
Apothecaries' Company

Asphalte (Liverpool)
(Poloncean)

‘.i .... O 1.4 6
2 .... 1 0 0

TIDE TABL

Height

Stintlays, Holylays, 60.1

0. 0. 0. M. F. I
Tuesday 4 312 333 12 11
Wednes. 5 355 413 11 3
Thursday 614 42 514 10 2
Friday .. 7 550 634 10 0
Saturday 8 715 751 11 0
Sunday g 831 9 5 12 7
Monday 10 931 956 14 3

Transfiguration

Bth Sunday after Trinity
St. Lawrence.