414 THE CEDAR OF LEBANON. 



firmer texture, and are not deciduous. The cones, which 

 stand erect, and in their young state are very conspicuous, 

 are of a bright green colour and an oval shape ; they 

 adhere firmly to the branches, which are covered with 

 a greyish brown bark. The horizontal branches, which 

 are very large in proportion to the size of the trunk, are 

 arranged in distinct layers or stages, and form a broadly 

 pyramidal head. The extremities of the lower branches 

 generally droop so as almost to touch the ground, when 

 the tree stands alone ; but if planted in masses, it bears a 



clean straight trunk, crowned by a depressed head. The 

 beauty of the tree consists in the strength and elegant 

 symmetry of its widely spreading branches. The resin 

 which exudes from the stem and cones is said to be as 

 soft as balsam; the smell is very similar to that of the 

 balm of Mecca. Everything, indeed, about this tree has 



