II.] AGES OF TREES. 43 



girth of 90 feet.* Again, some Cedars that were seen in 

 Lebanon in the sixteenth century were considered to be 

 the remains of the forest from which the timber was 

 drawn to build the temple of Solomon. By tradition, 

 and other reasoning, the age of these Cedars was set 

 down at about 3,000 years. Maundrell mentioned that 

 the largest he measured of this species was about 36 feet 

 in diameter. 



Decandolle gives the following list of the ascertained 

 ages of the undermentioned species of trees : — 



These figures have, doubtless, been based and com- 

 puted upon the supposition I have advanced of there 

 being one concentric circle for each year of growth ; 

 but, as they do not serve us for any practical purpose, 

 we must look to those trees of moderate dimensions, 

 which attain to maturity in a shorter time, rather than 

 to those I have enumerated, for the timber we may wish 

 to employ for architectural works. The record, however, 

 which these circles afford of the duration of life in trees 

 possesses a value of which we cannot but feel the interest. 



I have carefully examined and counted the annual 

 layers of a great many specimens — taking generally 

 an average of ten trees — with the view to show the 

 common and comparative rates of growth, and have 

 tabulated them to afford an opportunity of noticing any 

 variations there may have been in the time required to 

 form the wood in each of the several given diameters 



* It is impossible to accept these estimates, however, in the absence of 

 knowledge as to the rate of growth of the tree, and more recent observations 

 throw such grave doubts on them that we may conclude the age of these trees 

 is vastly exaggerated. 



