TIMBER OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 87 



but of the ancient forests where this tree grew only a few 

 hundred trees are left, and these are found at an elevation 

 of about 8,000 ft. above sea level. The cedar was well 

 known to the Sumerian founders of Eridu, the oldest city 

 of Babylonia, six to eight thousand years ago. It is a tree 

 of only moderate height, 50 to 80 ft., with massive trunk 

 and large branches ; some fine specimens of cedar of 

 Lebanon are to be found in Britain, among other places at 

 Sion House, Goodwood, Hopetown, Dalkeith, and a few 

 scattered about Enfield. The heart of the timber is 

 reddish brown, the sap reddish white, the wood is straight 

 grained but porous, somewhat like larch in appearance, 

 and though the timber had a high reputation in ancient 

 times, that grown in Europe is soft and brittle, liable to 

 warp, but in some outside situations durable. The name 

 cedar is given to many trees which are not true cedars ; 

 the Siberian stone pine is called cedar, and the red cedar 

 of California is a species of fir, the Virginian or red cedar 

 of the United States is a species of juniper, and some of 

 the American so-called cedars are cypresses. There are 

 some very fine trees amongst the North American cedars 

 which produce valuable timber suitable for inside or 

 ornamental work and other purposes. 



Red Cedar is one of the most widely distributed and one 

 of the most valuable of American forest trees. It is rare 

 in Canada, but grows along the St. Lawrence and on the 

 north of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and from there to the 

 Gulf of Mexico and as far west as Texas and Nebraska, and 

 is most extensively found in Alabama, Florida, and Ten- 

 nessee ; few trees exhibit a greater indifference to soil and 

 climate, and it must be very hardy, adapting itself as it 

 does to such a wide range. 



There are two varieties, the northern red cedar (Juniper us 



