The Garden Magazine, December, 1919 



181 



the close of the Tertiary Age the Cedars and all other vegeta- 

 tion were forced to lower levels. When perpetual snows 

 covered the great axis of Lebanon and fed glaciers which 

 rolled 4,000 feet down its valleys, the climate of Syria must 

 have been many degrees colder than now; the position of the 

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

 humid. At the close of the glacial period the increased 

 temperatures forced the Cedars and other cool temperate 

 vegetation to seek colder localities and so they migrated up 

 the mountain slopes and northward. This would lead to their 

 •present day occupation of isolated sites, those that failed to 

 do this would be killed. On the mountains of Cyprus 

 and on Lebanon, and to a less extent also on the Atlas Moun- 

 tains of North Africa and 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 timber seem appropriate. The wood 

 of the Cedar is fragrant, easily worked and of lasting quality. 

 That of the Deodar is the most important of any timber in 

 northwest India. It is used in quantity for railway ties, for 

 bridge building, for general construction work; also for roof- 

 ing shingles. That of the Atlas Cedar is also 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. It is recognized that the 

 character and quality of timber is strangely influenced by soil 

 and climate. The Old Testament references afford some 

 idea of the enormous consumption of these noble forest 

 trees. The subject has been much debated, but the con- 

 census of opinion now is that the wood used in building 

 Solomon's temple and by Nebuchadnezzar was in all prob- 

 ability Cedar of Lebanon. If to these demands and others we 

 add the wanton destruction by invading armies, we need 

 not wonder at the diminished glories of Lebanon. Rather 

 it is surprising that any trees remain! 



In the Western World 



THE Cedar of Lebanon loves a warm, deep, well-drained 

 soil and thrives in southern California. In England no 

 other exotic tree perhaps, has been more generally planted 

 for ornamental purposes during the past two and three quar- 

 ter centuries, just when the Lebanon Cedar was introduced 

 into England is not clearly known and probably never will be. 

 Evidence points to the tree at Childrey Rectory near Wan- 

 tage, as the oldest in England, this having been planted, it is 

 claimed, by Dr. Edward Pocock, who was chaplain to the 

 Turkey Company at Aleppo in 1629, and afterward to the 

 Embassy at Constantinople. In 1903 this tree measured 

 25 feet girth and its branches covered an area of 1,600 sq. 

 yards. 



Goodward Park, the seat of the Duke of Richmond is 

 probably more celebrated for its Cedar trees than any other 

 place in England, and there is a record of Peter Collinson in 

 1 76 1 supervising the planting of a thousand Cedars for the 

 then Duke of Richmond: The finest avenue of Cedars 

 however is that at Dropmore, planted in 1844, but there is a 

 question as to whether these are Lebanon or Atlas Cedars. 

 Wilton House near Salisbury, is another place famed for its 



Cedars, which are very old, as a specimen cut down in 1874 

 revealed. It was 36 feet in girth and its annual rings, care- 

 fully counted, numbered 236. According to this the tree 

 must have been a seedling in 1638 and very probably is of 

 the same origin as the one at Childrey Rectory. Obviously 

 therefore Loudon was mistaken in thinking the Cedars in the 

 old Physic Garden at Chelsea S. W. planted in 1683, and those 

 at Chiswick House were the oldest in England. The latter 

 still flourish but the former are dead. 



In Scotland are many fine Cedars of Lebanon, some being 

 scarcely inferior to the best in England. Wales and Ireland 

 have not so many. 



The date of the introduction of the Atlas Cedar into Eng- 

 land is not precisely known, but the oldest recorded tree is 

 one at Eastnor Castle, which was raised in 1845 from cones 

 gathered by Lord Somers at Teniet-el-Gaad. Seeds of the 

 Deodar were first sent to England by the Hon. Leslie Melville 



YOUNG TREE OF HARDY LEBANON CEDAR 



The Arnold Arboretum is successful growing trees cf the Cilician Taurus 

 Mountain type, enduring the rigors of the Massachusetts winter, and 

 attaining 22 feet in fourteen years, — the most rapid-growing conifer 



