THE CEDAR OF LEBANON 149 



shroud," referring to the thick leaf canopy, and as 

 a tree " of high stature and among thick boughs '* 

 in allusion to the lateral growth of its topmost boughs 

 and its flat, or so-called to-day in a less polished 

 lingo, clump-headed appearance, caused by the bend- 

 ing down of its topmost shoots. Again, " that his 

 boughs were multiplied, and his branches became 

 long," are points to w^hich in other language modern 

 botanists have pertinently and constantly called our 

 attention at later times. 



The name, and what it stands for, are associated 

 with many scenes from Bible lands, and recall the 

 building of the Temple of Solomon, where *' all was 

 cedar, there was no stone seen." The Cedar was 

 the greatest, and the Hyssop on the wall the lowliest, 

 type of plant life. An old Christmas carol quaintly 

 alludes to the two extreme positions they were 

 estimated at in the vegetable kingdom in illustration 

 of the humble and lowly birth of our Lord : 



The Cedar of Lebanon, 



Plant of ^eno^\-n, 

 Has bowed to the Hyssop 



His wide- spreading crown. 



The Hebrew word erez, which was equally applied 

 to Larch and Cedar, implied " firmly rooted," a 

 " strong tree." Without wishing to detract from its 

 character of mightiness, in all fairness it must be 

 said that in its native land it had not formidable 

 competition to wTest such fame from. The scenes 

 of its triumphs were otherwise treeless regions, com- 

 posed of such arboricultural representatives as stunted 

 Scrub Oak, Palm, and gnarled Olive trees. The ages 

 of the Cedars of the Bsherreh Grove at the head of 

 the Kedisha Valley, and other groves in these regions 

 that are still extant on the seaward slopes of the 

 Syrian Highlands, have been surrounded with every 



