320 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



The oil produced from tlae olive plantations of Palestine 

 formed a lucrative article of trade with the Tyrians. In 

 1 Kings* it is stated that Solomon gave Hiram, King of Tyre, 

 " twenty measures of pure oil." In the present day Hebron 

 is celebrated for its olive orchards. Recent travellers 

 describe seven olive trees as growing at Gethsemane which, 

 judging from their description, is suiBcient to warrant the 

 supposition that they were trees at the time Christ " went as 

 He was wont to the Mount of Olives." One of the chief 

 trades with Jerusalem in the present day consists of chaplets 

 and small toy articles, many of which are made of olive 

 wood. A branch of olive is considered an emblem of peace. 



Manna, or Flowering Ash {Fraxinus ornus). A much 

 branched tree, native of the South of Europe and Palestine. 

 It attains the height of 25 or 30 feet, and produces spikes of 

 pretty white flowers, the narrow petals and stamens giving 

 it a fringe-like appearance. It yields the substance called 

 manna, which is obtained by making incisions in the bark, 

 when the juice exudes and hardens. 



The tree is cultivated in the south of Italy and Sicily, 

 from whence manna is imported, and is used as a mild 

 purgative. In this country it forms an ornamental tree. 



Ash {Fraxinus excelsior). This noble and valuable timber 

 tree is native throughout Europe, some parts of Western 

 Asia and North Africa. It lives to a great age, and is 

 extensively planted in this country for its timber, which, on 

 account of its hardness and toughness, is used for aU pur- 

 poses where tenacity is required, such as garden and agricul- 

 tural implements, also when young for making hoops. 



Fraxinus chinensis. A small tree, native of China ; it is 

 remarkable from a species of Coccus insect living on it, and 

 being so abundant on the branches as to give them the ap- 

 pearance of being covered with flakes of snow. The insect 

 perforates the bark and imbibes the juice of the tree, its body 

 as well as the branch of the tree becoming a waxy mass, which 



* Chap. V. ver. 11. 



