Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/820

* CYPERUS. 710 CYPRESS. the colder parts of the globe, llany of the spe- cies have tubers or corms, which in some are mucilaginous and nutritious; others contain a bitter principle, and possess medicinal quali- ties. Of the latter class is Cypcrus longus, or sweet cyperus, one of the species which is com- mon in ditelies and wet meadows in some parts of Europe, the rhizome of which has an odor of violets, and is astringent, tonic, and stomachic. It has been employed in medicine from very an- cient times, but is now more used in perfumery. Some of the Indian species are also used medi- cinally and in perfumery in their native country, as well as species of kindred genera. Of those with esculent tubers, the most important is Cy- pei-us esculentus. (See Chufa.) A number of species are frequently grown as house plants, common among which are the umbrella plant or umbrella palm, Cyperus altcniifolius, and Cyperus papyrus, formerly called Papyrus anti- quorum, the Egj'ptiau paper-plant. See Papy- BUS. CY'PHEL. See House-Leek. CY-PRES, se' pra' (OF., as near). The prin- ciple of English and American law whereby a testamentary gift ^^■hich cannot take effect in the precise manner intended by the testator is given an effect as nearly as possible like that which was intended. The doctrine has been ap- plied in two classes of eases. In the Creation of Fee-tail Estates. — It is an established rule of real property law that a gift of land by way of remainder to the issue of an unborn person is void if it follow a gift of a life estate in the same property by the same instru- ment to such unborn person himself. But if the gifts be made by will, the remainder to the issue may be saved by construing the life estate of such unborn person as a fee tail, in which case it is capable of deseeiiding to the issue as tenant in tail. See Fee Tail; E.state. In Charitahle Gifts. — Where the object of a charitable gift fails, as by the dying out of the entire class of persons intended as beneficiaries of the charity, or where a charitable gift might be void in consequence of the indefiniteness of the charity or the operation of the rule against perpetuities, the court of chancery may direct the application of the property to another or to a specific charity. Thus, in' the first case, a tes- tamentary gift for the emancipation of slaves in the United States might, after the abolition of slaveiy, be devoted under the cy-pres doctrine to the education of emancipated slaves ; and, in the second case, a charitable gift for the benefit of the American Zionist Society — there being no such society in existence and there being a possi- bility that it may not come into existence within the period fixed by the rule against perpetuities — may be applied to the purposes which the tes- tator had in mind, through the agency of any other society having similar aims and competent to make a beneficial disposition thereof. It is in cases of charitable gifts that the cy- pres doctrine finds most of its applications in the United States. It has been repudiated in several of the States, but in most of them it ex- ists, and in New York, where it has for many years been in abeyance, it has recently been re- vived by statute. It is generally considered a salutary doctrine, as tending to preserve to char- ity a gift clearly intended for benevolent pur- poses, and as effectuating the general intention of the testator, even though the particular inten- tion entertained by him cannot be carried into effect. See Cji.^kitarle Tkist.s : I'ekpetlities ; Trust : Interpeetatiox : Wills : and the au- thorities there referred to under those titles. CYPRESS (Fr. cypres, Lat. cupressus, Gk. Kvirdpura-os, kyparissos ; connected by some with 11 eb. yoplter, a sort of tree, Assyr. yipuru, reed, canebrake). Evergreen trees and shrubs of the genus Cupressus, and of the natural order Coni- fera;. They have small, generally appressed and imbricate leaves and globular cones of a few thickened scales. There are about a dozen spe- cies, natives of Em-ope, Asia, and the western part of North America. One of the best known is the common cypress of the south of Europe {Cu- pressus semperi-irens), and introduced into Eng- land and parts of the United States, a tree which attains a height of .SO feet, and is famous alike for the great age it reaches and for the durabil- ity of its wood. The wood is red or yellowish, hard, compact, and durable. It is not subject to attacks of insects and was once in great demand for cabinet work. It is believed to be the cedar wood of Scriptures and possibly the gopher wood also. Museum specimens of the wood are knouTi to be several thousand years old, and the old doors of Saint Peter's at Kome lasted for more than 1100 years until replaced by doors of bronze, iledicinal virtues were once attributed to the wood, but its present use is for cabinet work and musical instruments. Perhaps the finest tree of tliis genus is Cupressus mucrocarpa, the ilonterey cypress of California. It is a beau- tifully symmetrical tree, attaining a height of 150 feet and a circumference of trunk of eight to ten feet. It gi'o^^s rapidly, even on poor soils, and thrives best near the sea. It is not very hardy; freezing temperatures are fatal to it. A small tree (Cupressus Macnabiana) of Califor- nia is much hardier. Cupressus funebris, of Cliina, has wide-spreading and often pendulous branches; it attains a height of CO feet, and has been extensively planted as an ornament in regions adapted to it. Cupressus lusitanica is common ornamentally in the south of Europe, where it is known as cedar of Goa. Cupressus lorulosa is a valuable species found in the north of India. Cupressus obtusa or Retinospora ob- tusa, a Japanese species, is hardy, attains a height of 100 feet, has a hard, close-grained, durable wood, which is considered of great value in Japan, where the tree is abundant in the for- ests. It is hardy in the latitude of New York, and some of its varieties are of great beauty. Other species occur in Japan, IMexico, and the United States. By some botanists the species of Chamae- cyparis are united with Cupressus. Among the best kno-n-n are the white cedar [Cupressus thy- oides) of the eastern United States, the yel- low cedar (Cupressus nootl-anensis), and Port Orford cedar (Cupressus Lairsoniana) . all of the Pacific Coast region. The bald or southern cy- press {Taxodium dislichum) is a tall tree with deciduous leaves which occurs abundantly in the swamps from Jlarvland to Jlissouri and south to the Gulf of llexico. The timber of this tree is valuable for many purposes. It works easily and is commonly used for shingles. In water it is very durable. When growing in wet places curious, conical, hollow upward growths, called knees, rise from the roots. Their function