105 



to them, which soon after was filled up, and hence the decUne in growth of 

 the trees. 



I have before me a few statistics on the other cedars besides those of Chelsea, 

 which it may be worth while to lay before you. 



Blenheim, date of planting unknown, but probably under 100 years. The 

 largest trees 22 feet and 21 feet 6 inches in circumference at 5 feet high. 

 King's Acre, planted in 1785, girth nearly 14 feet. 

 Whitfield, age 78 years, girth 11 ft. 6 in. and 12 ft. m. 

 MoccAS, age unknown, girth 14 ft. 7 in. 

 Bekdwaedine, aged 55 years, girth 12 feet. 



And now we may ask, is there any reason to doubt whether the timber used 

 by Solomon for his great works, and mentioned by the ^n^iters quoted above, be 

 the produce of the tree which we caU Cedar of Lebanon. In reply to this question 

 I may say that doubt has existed chiefly, I think, on two grounds. (1) That the 

 timber obtained from existing trees, both in this country and in Lebanon itself, is 

 by no means of superior kind, but generally not better, certainly, than white deal. 

 (2) That the use of it for masts of vessels, mentioned by Ezekiel is one for which 

 cedar is ill-suited. 



Now there is no doubt that the Hebrew word for cedar is sometimes used in 

 a loose and general sense, more in accordance \vith its etymological origin than 

 the specific character of the tree. We have already seen this in the case of the 

 "cedar wood "used in the Jewish ritual, and it is very probable that the masts 

 mentioned by Ezekiel may have been made of the pinus Halepensis, which is found 

 in the Lebanon, and which probably supplied the " fir timber " so largely used by 

 Solomon. Moreover, the LXX. version of the passage renders the word by "masts 

 of fir. " 



But the main objection lies in the supposed general inferiority of cedar 

 timber. To meet this difficulty several suggestions have been made. 1. That 

 the tree which furnished the " cedar " timber was not the cedar of Lebanon, but 

 its very closely alUed and nearly resembling congener, the Deodara. The two 

 trees are sometimes so alike that to one who is not a professed botanist they are 

 scarcely to be distinguished. Of the Deodara the leaves are more distinctly three- 

 sided, and the cones grow in pairs, and are rather larger than those of the cedar. 

 It yidds excellent timber in its own country, but has not, I believe, been much 

 tested for that purpose in our own. 



2. That yew, " taxus baccata," furnished some at least of the timber for 

 Solomon's work. It is still common in the Lebanon. In favour of this claimant 

 it has been alleged by an able botanist that the wood found at Nineveh, which was 

 at first thought to be cedar, has been proved by microscopic examination to be 

 yew. On the other hand, another careful observer, weU qualified to judge, is 

 convinced by simUar examination that it is not yew but cedar of Lebanon. 



