350 / 374
350
DRINKS.
laurel.
Durlnof
an
east
wind
the
water
harvest
was
the
most
abundant.
This
celebrated
vegetable
product
was
unfortunately
destroyed
by
a
hurricane
in
1625.
But
even
about
this
date
authors
disagree.
While
Nunez
de
la
Pena
is
an
authority
for
that
given,
Nieremberg
assures
us
the
catastrophe
occurred
in
1629.
Another
date
men-
tioned
is
161
2.
The
view
of
Bory
de
St.
Vincent
is
that
this
holy
tree
was
nothing
more
than
the
Laurus
Indica
of
Linnaeus,
which
is
indigenous
to
the
mountain
summits
of
the
Canary
Islands.
His
concluding
remark
is
pregnant
w^ith
common
sense
:
Si
les
auteurs
que
nous
out
p
arid
diL
Garod
ont
dit
quil
dtait
seul
de
son
espece
dans
rtle,
cest
qitils
ndtaient
pas
botanistes^
et
qitils
n
avaient
pas
rSfldchi
que
cet
arbre
ay
ant
ten
fruit,
devait
se
reproduire,
comme
tous
les
autres
vdgdtaux.
The
water
of
rivers
is
often
clarified
in
a
peculiar
manner
before
drinking.
For
instance,
that
of
the
Ganges
is
said
to
be
improved
by
rubbing
certain
nuts
on
the
edges
of
the
vessel
in
which
it
is
kept,^
though
how
this
may
be
it
is
as
difficult
to
understand,
as
how
the
turtle
is
affected
by
a touch
of
his
carapace,
or
the
Dean
and
Chapter
—
to
borrow
Sydney
Smiths
illustration
—
of
St.
Paul's
by
stroking the
cupola
of
that
cathedral.
The
Nile
water
is
also
said
to
be
purified
by
treating
the
vessel
which
holds
it
in
a
similar
manner
to
that
which
holds
the
water
of
the
Ganges,
with
bitter
almonds.
The
bitter
waters
of
Marah
were
made
sweet
in
a
far
different
fashion.
^
Harper's
New
Monthly
Magazine^
xi.
p.
499.