BIRD NOTES.
I.
Bit of sunshine taken wings,
Or a spray of golden-rod?
On thistle top he sways and swings,
Or flung high to the sun, he sings—
Perdita—Perdita—Perdita—
’Dita,—Sweet, Sweet—.
II.
Good morning trolled, then all the day,
From thicket hidden bramble bush,
This recluse croons his roundelay.
But startle him,—a flash of gray,
And, Hush—Hush—Hush—Hush—
Go ’way,—Go ’way—.
III.
Wild cherry bough and hanging nest,
And calls amid the apple bloom,
No need to tell whose flaming breast
And fluting note lead all the rest,—
Glory—Glory—Glory—Glory—
Glory,—Come-O, Come-O—.
—Mary Hefferan.
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 countries 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, under cultivation, become doubled and show an increased and striking splendor in the richness of their color.
The etymology of its name is very interesting. 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 Pomegranate 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 possibly 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 applied to this fruit which, though it delights the eye, is disappointing to the taste.
Pliny tells us that the Pomegranate was extensively cultivated by the Carthaginians at their home in Northern Africa. 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 Carthage 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 language 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 references to it in the Old Testament. In the directions for making Aaron’s robe we find the following passage: “Upon the skirts of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet,” and again, “They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates.” 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 indicates that this fruit was cultivated in his time as he speaks of an “orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits.”
The Pomegranate is frequently represented in the ancient sculptures of the Assyrians and of the Egyptians.
The Pomegranate belongs to the family 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 describing the tree Dr. Oliver R. Willis gives the following 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 the ends of the branchlets. A beautiful object for planted grounds.”
POMEGRANATE.
(Punica granatum)
⅔ Life-size.
The color of the flowers, which develop on the ends of the younger branches, is a deep and rich scarlet or crimson. Many variations have been produced by growing the plants from seeds and one of these bears white flowers. The petals are rounded and usually crumpled.
The fruit, which is a berry about the size of an ordinary orange, is when fresh usually of a reddish yellow color, becoming brownish in drying. The rind is thick and leathery, and encloses a quantity of pulp which is filled with a refreshing juice that is acid. It is of a pinkish or reddish color, and encloses the numerous angular seeds. Probably the chief value of the plant lies in the use of the fruit as a relish, though the rind of the fruit and the bark of the root are used in medicine.
The bark contains a large amount of tannin and from it there is also obtained a bright yellow dye, which is used to produce the yellow Levant Morocco.
In regions without frost the tree is often grown for ornamental purposes.