248 ARBOR DA Y MANUAL. 



TREES OF THE BIBLE. 



NO less than five of the eight zones recognized by geographers are repre- 

 sented within the limited area of Palestine. On the snow-capped peaks 

 of Lebanon, the climate approaches an Arctic severity, while the lower parts of 

 the Jordan valley experience a tropical heat. Between these extremes of tem- 

 perature we have the climates of the western coasts, the inland plains and low- 

 est hills, the higher uplands and the loftier table lands beyond Jordan. Out of 

 this strangely varied climate springs a corresponding complexity in the vege- 

 table life of the country. The paper reeds of Egypt, and the palms and 

 acacias of the desert are represented equally with the oaks, willows and junipers 

 of Europe. On the plains of the coast and the southern highlands, grow the 

 Aleppo pine, the myrtle and ilex, the gray olive, and the green arbutus, the 

 carob or locust tree, the orange and citron, the vine, the fig tree, and the 

 pomegranate. The bay and the oleaster flourish on the hills, and the streams 

 are overhung by the roseate blossoms of the oleander. On the rest of the table 

 lands, which constitute the greater part of Palestine, both east and west of the 

 Jordan, flourish pines and junipers, the terebinth, the almond, apricot, and 

 peach, the hawthorn and mountain ash, the ivy and honeysuckle, the wal- 

 nut and mulberry; oaks, poplars and willows, the majestic cedars of Lebanon, 

 the melancholy cypress, and the plane tree with its wide-spreading shade. In 

 the Jordan valley, the date palm flourished, here grew the acacia and juniper 

 of Scripture. 



The slopes of the two ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, are terraced for 

 grain and a variety of fruit trees, ruddy orchards and groves of mulberry, the 

 characteristic tree of Lebanon, oranges, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries 

 and almonds thrive at different elevations, according to their several ranges of 

 temperature. Here the vine and the pomegranate yield their rich products. 

 In the warmer and more sheltered spots, the palm and the olive, the fig and the 

 walnut find a congenial home ; green oaks abound higher up on the mountain 

 side, and higher still, the pine, cypress and juniper crown the successive zones 

 of vegetation with their sombre foliage. On Lebanon, such northern species 

 as the mountain ash, the box and the barberry have found a refuge, while 

 humbler plants, like the wild rose, geranium and honeysuckle, impart a pleasing 

 aspect to the scene. And beside the many " streams from Lebanon," willows 

 and poplars, the oriental plane, and the crimson oleander, with a mass of low- 

 lier vegetation, flourish as in Bible days. 



Beyond Jordan, pine forests clothe the summits ofrthe highest hills; lower 

 down, woods of evergreen oak adorn the park like scenery of ancient Gilead 

 and Bashan, and mingled with them the rich foliage of the myrtle, the arbutus, 

 and the carob or locust tree, varied with the pink and white blossoms of the 

 broom bush. 



The northern portion of Lake Huleh, the Biblical " Waters of Merom," is cov- 

 ered by an immense tract of floating thickets of papyrus, and white and yellow 

 water lilies adorn the more open portions. A few palm trees grow near the end 

 of the lake, and Josepus alludes to these, and to the fact that walnuts, figs and 



