Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-06-26
Historic Trees.

"
There are numerous remarkable and
historic trees, among which may be
named the bread-fruit tree of Ceylon,
the fruit of which is baked and eaten
as we eat bread, and is equally good
and nutritious. In Barbutu, South
America, is tree which by piercing
the trunk produces milk, with which
the inhabitants feed their children. In
the interior of Africa is tree which
produces excellent butter, Ii resem-
bles the American oak, and its fruit,
from which the butter is prepared, Is
not unlike the olive. The great trav-
eler, Park, declared that the butter
surpassed any made in England from
cows milk. At Sierra Leone Is the
cream fruit tree, which is quite agree
able in taste. At Table bay, near the
cape of Good Hope is small tree, the
berries of which make excellent can
dies. 1t is also found in the Azores.
The vegetable tallow tree also grows in
Sumatra; and the bark OF tree In
Oullld cOaPs 1hN
talypot tree in Ceylon grows to the
height of one hundred feet, the leaf of
which is so large that it will cover
nearly twenty people, like an umbrella.
The banyan tree is wonderful; it never
dies, aud Is constantly extending, for
as the branches shoot downward they
take root, and thus produce other trees,
whose branches in like manner extend
downward, and resembling large oaks,
the fruit of which is much like rich
scarlet figs and furnishes a luxurious
subsistence to monkeys and birds Of
every description. The pippul tree Is
said to be ''the most completely beauti-
ful of all which adorn the wids garden
of Nature" The HindOos called Ii the
''Tree of God" and the ''religious fig, !"
because under its shade they suppose
their god vishnu was born. Ii is held
BY them in such venerstion that the
form of the leaves is only allowed To be
painted on furniture used by the
princes. They plant them as memorials
of persons deceased. They serve also
for shade for travellers. The Chinese
feed vast numbers of silkwOrms on this
tree. One OF the most remarkable trees
in history is the great dragon tree,
which was blown down by hurricane
few years since at Orotava, in the
| island of TenerIffe. 1t was stately
tree, about eighty feet high, as early as
A. D., 1902, and so old and remarkable
a tree then as TO excite particular notice
and care for its preservation. Hum
boldt spoke of it some sixty-two years
ago and computed it to be 5000 years
old. Sir George StauntOn had pre-
viously brought it into notice in III. a
cypress tree in OAK ica, Mexico, which
| forty three years ago measured one
hundred and twenty feet in height. one
hundred and seventeen feet ten inches
in circumference, and which sheltered
Herman Cortez and his followers under
its widespreading branches, Is now o.
600 years old. A type of antiquity In
the vegetable kingdom is that OF a hg
tree in Ceylon, planted, according to
documentary and traditional evidence,
2Ss B. c., making it Z. Ice years old.
The oldest oak in England in Herford-
shire, is situated in Hatfield Park. II
is over a thousand years old. Another
old oak is the parliament Oak" from
the tradition of Edward |. holding a
parliament under Its branches, on one
of the estates OF the Duke Of Portland.
Ii is considered to be thirteen hundred
years old. The tallest oak in England
was the property of the same nobieman,
and was called the dukes Walking
stick" Ii was higher than westmin'
ster Abbey. The largest oak is known
as "Calthrop Oak" Yorkshire; il
measures seventy eight feet round the
ground, while the "Three shire Oak,
at worksop, is so called from its shade
covering part OF three counties.