GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. 



559 



There are multitudes of plants of a completely insulated growth flourishing spon- 

 taneously in a particular spot, and nowhere else. Examples occur upon the volcano of 

 Guadaloupe, the Table Mountain of the Cape, and upon some sites of New Zealand ; but 

 the most remarkable case of this kind is that of the cedar of Lebanon, which has never been 

 found indigenous in any other locality. From the earliest times the cedars of Lebanon 

 have been celebrated. Their timber was largely used in some of the most famous 

 structures of the ancients, and was highly prized on account of its durability ; for though 

 not equal to the oak in absolute wear, it is so bitter that no insect will touch it. When 

 Solomon built his temple, he sent to Hiram, the lord-paramount of Lebanon, to procure 

 the necessary quantity of cedar-wood for the structure ; and the thirty thousand axes of 

 the King of Israel must have deprived the heights of some of their noblest trees. Very 

 few of the ancient stock now exist whether owing to similar ravages, or to some change 

 in the climate, it is impossible to determine. When Ballonius visited them in the year 



Cedars of Lebanon. 



1550, there were twenty-eight of the old race remaining. In 1575 Rauwolf found 

 twenty -four ; in 1680 Dandini found twenty-three; in 1738 Pococke counted fifteen; in 

 1811 Burckhardt could only number eleven ; Dr. Richardson in 1828, and Lamartine in 

 1832, speak of only seven. The age of these patriarchs of the forest has been variously 

 estimated. The inhabitants firmly believe them to be the remains of that identical forest 

 which flourished in the time of Solomon. Lamartine supposes it a fair presumption, from 

 their size and appearance, that they go back to biblical times. It is certain that they 

 were regarded as very ancient several centuries ago ; nor is it unlikely that they are the 

 surviving relics of a second generation since the time of the Jewish king. The cedar, 

 full grown, with its upward inclining branches, is one of the most majestic and beautiful 

 of the productions of the vegetable kingdom. The Arabs regard this inclination as a 

 sign of intelligence, answering to instinct in animals, and reason in man; and it is 

 asserted that this upward turning of the branch is always greater previous to the descent 

 of the snow, as if the tree anticipated, and prepared to receive, the coming burden. 



