THE SUB-TROPICAL ZONE. 99 



may be seen from the mention of it by the 

 prophet : " Is there no balm in Gilead ; is 

 there no physician there ? why then is not 

 the health of the daughter of my people re- 

 covered?" Jer. viii. 22; " Go up into Gilead, 

 and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of 

 Egypt : in vain shalt thou use many medi- 

 cines ; for thou shalt not be cured," Jer. 

 xlvi. 11 ; " Take balm for her pain, if so be she 

 may be healed," Jer. li. 8. According to Pliny 

 and Justin, it was anciently so abundant in the 

 vale of Jericho, that there were whole parks of 

 balsam trees there ; and we know from Scrip- 

 ture that it grew in Gilead, on the Syrian side 

 of the Jordan. Now, however, it has totally 

 disappeared from Palestine, and is only to be 

 found in Arabia, which seems to be its native 

 country. It is procured by incision in the tree, 

 but the quantity collected is very small. The 

 large park in the vale of Jericho only yielded 

 six gallons in the most plentiful year, and it 

 was formerly sold for double its weight in silver. 

 It is still estee.med very precious, and is rarely 

 to be procured genuine, that which is collected 

 being hardly sufficient for the seraglio and great 

 officers. It is said to be exceedingly fragrant. 



Myrrh is a product of a plant of the same 

 genus, (Balsamodendron myrrha,) a tree which 

 grows in considerable quantity on the borders 

 of Arabia Felix. The myrrh of Scripture is, 

 however, not perhaps identical with the gum 

 we call by that name, but probably is the same 

 as the balsam of Mecca, or the kataf of the 



