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that "he noi for meat." Genesis 43:11 shows what Israel considered 

 the greatest offeringi lie could make. "If it must be so now, do this; 

 take of" the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down to 

 the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, 

 nuts and almonds." In the Song of Solomon, Chapter 6, Verse 11, 

 we find, "I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the 

 valley." 



What were the nuts of tlie Bible, which were held in such high 

 esteem.^ Notably the almond which is mentioned most often by name, 

 the chestnut, the walnut, called Egoz in Hebrew, or Royal Nut, the 

 hazel nut, and the pistachio. 



Read the seventeenth chapter of Numbers and note in the eiglitli 

 verse, "And behold the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded 

 and brought forth buds and bloomed blossoms and 3'ielded almonds." 



You will notice in Isaiah 6, Verse 13, a reference which places 

 similar value on the pistachio nut. For it is likened to "the holy 

 seed," meaning that small remnant of tlie Jewish people who shall 

 be saved from destructions and on whom the whole future of the nation 

 depends. Back in the 30th Chapter of Genesis you find mention of 

 Jacob before his departure from Laban, taking rods of the hazel nut 

 ;:nd of the chestnut tree and of the miraculous results ascribed to them. 

 Tills significance of the nut tree as the source of food runs tlirough 

 tl e Old Testament from the very first chapter of tlie first book. In 

 Genesis I, Verse 29, we read, "And God said, 'Behold I have given 

 you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, 

 and every tree in the wliich is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you 

 it shall be for meat'." 



What is the record during the past two thousand years.'' Let us 

 look into the facts regarding the notable trees of the world, trees 

 which are famous the world over. None is more famous than that 

 wonderful chestnut tree on Mount Etna which the natives call "Cas- 

 tig'na di Centa Cavalla". Its name indicates that a hundred horsemen 

 can be concealed within its hollow trunk, the circumference of which 

 measures one hundred and eighty feet. This tree is one of a vast 

 chestnut grove on Mount Etna containing other trees of prodigious 

 size and of great age many of which are still bearing. 



iSIichaux describes the Grand Chestnut near Saucerre, France, 



