ON THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, ETC. 215 
that he has only obtained specimens from seeds sown in pots and 
protected.” I think he is mistaken, because so many self-sown 
plants spring up, which brave the severity of the winter, and succeed 
as well as if they were protected, provided they are not destroyed 
by accident. I have raised Cedars of Lebanon in the open border ; 
but I have lost many of them, which may have been caused by the 
seed which I had extracted with difficulty from the cones not being 
thoroughly ripe. 
I do not know whether it has ever been attempted to sow the 
Cedar of Lebanon on a large scale in the open border. I presume, 
however, that it could be done successfully if the seed employed was 
perfectly ripe. The principal obstacle would be the difficulty of 
procuring the seed in suflicient quantity. In fact, the seed which 
is extracted with so much difficulty from the cones is generally soft, 
and probably only retains its germinating powers for a short time. 
If it is desired to gather the cones a short time before they would 
shed their scales and seeds, in order to be certain that the seed was 
perfectly ripe, it would be difficult to procure much, as the time of 
ripening is so variable ; and, besides, if the process of germination 
has commenced, the seed must be sown immediately. 
Pruning appears to be more hurtful to the cedar than to any of 
the other resinous trees; at least Loudon, who quotes Miller and 
Boutcher, brings facts in support of this opinion. I have found that 
the nibbling by hares of the lateral branches of newly planted 
young cedars has generally killed them, whilst it has only retarded 
the growth of pines, firs, and larches. Cedars must therefore be 
pruned with the utmost reserve, beginning upon isolated trees, at 
twelve years old, on the branches nearest the ground, at the rate of 
one or two branches only in the year. When these trees are grown 
close together, they prune themselves, but branches which are sickly 
may at once be cut off, as they would soon perish. 
Qualities and Uses of the Wood.—It was long believed, on the 
authority of ancient testimony, that the wood of the cedar was 
incorruptible, and that it was one of the best trees both for building 
and fitting up ships. ‘The wood of this famous tree,” says Miller, 
“is regarded as incorruptible.” We know assuredly that its wood 
is light, because Varennes de Fenille found that a cubic foot of it, 
when perfectly dry, only weighed 32 lbs. Baudrillart states that 
Mussenbrack gives the weight of the cubic foot of this wood at 
42 lbs. 14 0z., and Hassenfratz at 57 Ibs., differences which 
were probably caused by the unequal dryness of the wood, 
