III. tom. iii. p.
187) contains a perfectly inconclusive endeavour, by M. Roux de Rochelle,
to identify the Arbre Sec or Arbre Sol with a manna-bearing oak
alluded to by Q. Curtius as growing in Hyrcania. There can be no doubt
that the tree described is, as Marsden points out, a Chinar or Oriental
Plane. Mr. Ernst Meyer, in his learned Geschichte der Botanik
(Koenigsberg, 1854-57, IV. 123), objects that Polo's description of the
wood does not answer to that tree. But, with due allowance, compare with
his whole account that which Olearius gives of the Chinar, and say if the
same tree be not meant. "The trees are as tall as the pine, and have very
large leaves, closely resembling those of the vine. The fruit looks like a
chestnut, but has no kernel, so it is not eatable. The wood is of a very
brown colour, and full of veins; the Persians employ it for doors and
window-shutters, and when these are rubbed with oil they are incomparably
handsomer than our walnut-wood joinery." (I. 526.) The Chinar-wood is used
in Kashmir for gunstocks.
The whole tenor of the passage seems to imply that some eminent
individual Chinar is meant. The appellations given to it vary in the
different texts. In the G. T. it is styled in this passage, "The Arbre
Seule which the Christians call the Arbre Sec," whilst in ch. cci. of
the same (infra, Bk. IV. ch. v.) it is called "L'Arbre Sol, which in the
Book of Alexander is called L'Arbre Seche" Pauthier has here "L'Arbre
Solque, que nous appelons L'Arbre Sec," and in the later passage
"L'Arbre Soul, que le Livre Alexandre apelle Arbre Sec;" whilst
Ramusio has here "L'Albero del Sole che si chiama per i Cristiani
L'Albor Secco," and does not contain the later passage. So also I think
all the old Latin and French printed texts, which are more or less based
on Pipino's version, have "The Tree of the Sun, which the Latins call
the Dry Tree."
[G. Capus says (A travers le roy. de Tamerlan, p. 296) that he found at
Khodjakent, the remains of an enormous plane-tree or Chinar, which
measured no less than 48 metres (52 yards) in circumference at the base,
and 9 metres diameter inside the rotten trunk; a dozen tourists from
Tashkent one day feasted inside, and were all at ease. - H. C.]
Pauthier, building as usual on the reading of his own text (Solque),
endeavours to show that this odd word represents Thoulk, the Arabic name
of a tree to which Forskal gave the title of Ficus Vasta, and this Ficus
Vasta he will have to be the same as the Chinar. Ficus Vasta would be a
strange name surely to give to a Plane-tree, but Forskal may be acquitted
of such an eccentricity. The Tholak (for that seems to be the proper
vocalisation) is a tree of Arabia Felix, very different from the Chinar,
for it is the well-known Indian Banyan, or a closely-allied species, as
may be seen in Forskal's description.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 321 of 655
Words from 167464 to 167993
of 342071
