THE ROMANCE OF OUR TREES 



fully 4,000 feet lower, and the atmosphere much more 

 humid. At the close of the Glacial period the in- 

 creased temperatures forced the Cedars and other 

 cool-temperate vegetation to seek colder localities 

 and so they migrated up the mountain slopes and 

 northward. Those that failed to do so would be 

 killed, and this would lead to their present-day occu- 

 pation of isolated sites. On the mountains of Cy- 

 prus and on Lebanon, and to a less extent also on the 

 Atlas Mountains of northern Africa and on the Taurus 

 ranges of Asia Minor, the Cedar groves and forests 

 are merely surviving remnants of prehistoric forests 

 of enormous magnitude. 



In closing this sketch of the Cedars, their history 

 and geographical distribution, a few brief remarks 

 on the character and usefulness of their wood seem 

 appropriate. It is fragrant, easily worked, and of 

 lasting quality. That of the Deodar is the most im- 

 portant of any timber in northwestern India. It is 

 used in quantity for railway-ties, for bridge-building, 

 for general construction work; also for roofing 

 shingles. That of the Atlas Cedar also is valuable 

 and especially in the ground. The Cedar of Lebanon 

 in England grows rapidly and its wood is of poor 

 quality, but that of the trees on Lebanon is excellent. 

 The subject has been much debated, but the consen- 

 sus of opinion now is that the wood used in building 



94 



