36. According to another legend, forget-me-nots sprang up.




CHAPTER II.

PRIMITIVE AND SAVAGE NOTIONS RESPECTING PLANTS


The descent of the human race from a tree--however whimsical such a
notion may seem--was a belief once received as sober fact, and even
now-a-days can be traced amongst the traditions of many races.[1] This
primitive idea of man's creation probably originated in the myth of
Yggdrasil, the Tree of the Universe,[2] around which so much legendary
lore has clustered, and for a full explanation of which an immense
amount of learning has been expended, although the student of mythology
has never yet been able to arrive at any definite solution on this
deeply intricate subject. Without entering into the many theories
proposed in connection with this mythical tree, it no doubt represented
the life-giving forces of nature. It is generally supposed to have been
an ash tree, but, as Mr. Conway[3] points out, "there is reason to think
that through the confluence of traditions other sacred trees blended
with it. Thus, while the ash bears no fruit, the Eddas describe the
stars as the fruit of Yggdrasil."

Mr. Thorpe,[4] again, considers it identical with the "Robur Jovis," or
sacred oak of Geismar, destroyed by Boniface, and the Irminsul of the
Saxons, the _Columna Universalis_, "the terrestrial tree of offerings,