J. D. HOOKER ON THE GEDAES OF LEBAJ^ON. 



13 



standing tree, or two, not far from the rest, and appear as a black 

 speck in tlie gi-eat area of the corry and its moraines, which contain 

 no other arboreous vegetation, nor any shrubs, but a few small 

 berberry and rose bushes, that form no feature in the landscape. 

 A section from east to west, along the axis of the basin, presents 

 something of the following character : 





d 



«, Gorge of the Kedisha ; b, lower flat ; c, moraines with f cedai'S ; d, npper flat ; 



J) axis of the Lebanon, 3000 feet above the floor of the basin ; e, summit of 



the Lebanon seen to the northward. 



Tlie number of trees is about 400, and they are disposed in nine 

 groups, corresponding with as many hummocks of the range of 

 moraines ; they are of various sizes, from about 18 inches to up- 

 wards of 40 feet in girth; but the most remarkable and signifi- 

 cant fact connected with their size, and consequently with the age of 

 the grove, is that there is no tree of less than 18 iuches girth, 

 and that we found no young trees, bushes, nor even seedlings of a 

 second year's growth. We had no means of estimatuig accurately 

 the ages of the youngest or oldest tree ; nor shall we have, till the 

 specimens of the former arrive. It may be remarked, however, that 

 the wood of the branch of the old tree, cut at the time, is eight inches 

 in diameter (exclusive of bark), presents an extremely firm, com- 

 pact, and close-grained texture, and has no less than 140 rings, which 

 are so close in some parts that they cannot be counted without a 

 lens. This specimen ftirther, is both harder and browner than any 

 English-grown Cedar or native Deodar, and is as odoriferous as the 

 latter. These, however, are the characters of an old lower branch 

 of a very old tree, and are no guide to the general character of 

 the wood on the Lebanon, and still less to that of English-grown 

 specimens, which are always very inferior in colour, odour, grain, 

 and texture. Calculating only from the rings in this branch, the 

 youngest trees in Lebanon would average 100 years old, the oldest 

 2500, both estimates no doubt widely far from the mark. Calcu- 

 lating from trunks of English rapidly-grown specimens, their ages 

 might be calculated as low respectively as 5* and 200 years ; while 



* Three Cedar trees grown in Bedfordshire, at the age of 30 years attained 

 the girths respectively of 6 feet ; 6 feet 6 inches ; and 5 feet 8 inches. Gard. Chron. 

 1853, p. 310, 



