Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume V.djvu/617

 CYNOSCEPIIAL.E CYPKESS 613 god Anubis was also represented in this man- ner, though the head of his image is supposed Thoth as the God of Letters. by some writers to be that of a jackal. (See BABOON.) CYNOSCEPHALJ3, the name of a range of mountains in Thessaly, in the district of Pelas- giotis, famous in history for two battles fought on it. The first was in 364 B. 0., when the Thebans, though victorious over the Pherseans, lost their general Pelopidas. The other was in 197 B. 0., when the Roman consul Flami- ninus inflicted a crushing defeat upon Philip, king of Macedon. iYiMRIA, in ancient times, a district of the Peloponnesus, on the gulf of Argolis, inhabit- ed by a rude tribe of Ionian s. They were a plundering race, and when attacked would re- tire to their mountain fastnesses. They were, however, subdued by the Argives at an early period, and about the middle of the 6th cen- tury B. 0. their country passed into the pos- session of Sparta. The city of Thyrea (now Astros), with the country around, formed part of this district. CYPRJSA, a genus of marine shells of the class gasterpoda. See COWRY. CYPRESS. I. A coniferous tree (cupressus, Linn.), remarkable for the durability of its Evergreen Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens>. timber, distinct from the pines and firs by its leaves being reduced to mere scales, and by its cones consisting of a few woody bracts, each of which bears several small angular seeds. The common evergreen or upright cy- press (C. sempermrenSj Willd.) is tapering, with upright branches growing close to the trunk, resembling in general appearance the Lom- bardy poplar, and attaining in its native con- dition an altitude of 50 or 60 ft., though some- times it 'is found much higher. According to Duhamel, a substance resembling gum traga- canth exudes in small particles from the bark of the young trees, and is collected by the bees. It is this species which, found wild in the isl- ands of the archipelago, particularly Candia, and in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey (chiefly in Asia Minor), and Persia, has been for a long time transferred to gardens for the sake of its deep evergreen branches and leaves, and for the gloomy air it imparts to the localities it occu- Cupressua sempervirens Leaves and Cones. pies. Among the Turks it is much esteemed for planting in cemeteries, and is used to such extent that these grounds resemble forests of cypress. It is the kind mentioned in the Scrip- tures, and was famous among the ancients. In- stances are related of doors and posts made of its wood which had lasted 1,100 years. The odor of the cypress was considered so balsamic, that the eastern physicians used to send their patients troubled with lung complaints to the island of Candia for a residence. Any garden soil suits the cypress, but a deep and rather dry and sheltered soil is best. It can be raised from the seeds, sown in shallow pans, and the young plants on reaching three or four inches in height need to be potted off and kept for a few years with some care to render them fit for transplanting into open grounds. Cut- tings taken from the younger branches, if planted during the autumn, will grow and succeed. Little training is necessary, on ac-