THE CEDAR OF LEBANON. 501 
not very valuable. In the matter of excellence, 
the wood of the Scotch Fir and the Larch is most 
esteemed. 
The natural habitats of the Conifers are moun- 
tainous regions, where they are naturally subject 
to the force of high winds and to exposure to 
cold; and Nature marvellously adapts them to 
the situations they occupy. Growing oftentimes 
on shallow soil, or rocky mountain sides, the 
horizontal direction which their roots habitually 
take enables them to secure a hold upon a com- 
paratively large extent of ground. Like most 
roots, too, which grow horizontally, Pine-Tree 
roots are frequently exposed above the surface of 
the ground, and they thus acquire a hardness 
- which enables them the better to support their 
tall stems, and to resist the force of storms. 
Were they furnished all the way up their trunks 
with branches, a surface would be presented to 
the wind which would enable it to exercise 
enormous force, the result of which would be 
certain upheaval. But the trunks of the moun- 
tain and rock-loving Pines are bared of encum- 
bering branches, and even upon their heads of 
