739. Trees and bushes appear to have been held in superstitious veneration in these countries from the earliest periods. Morier, Johnson, and Sir William Ouseley (Embassy, &c., vol. i.), describe the Persians as often worshipping under old trees in preference to their religious buildings. The chenar, or plane, is greatly preferred. On these trees the devotees sacrifice their old clothes by hanging them to their branches, and the trunks of favourite trees are commonly found studded with rusty nails and tatters. (Sir William Ouseley, App., 1819.) Groves of trees are equally revered in India, and are commonly found near the native temples and burial-places of the princes.
