TIMBEE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA 87 
but of the ancient forests where this tree grew only a few 
hundred trees are left, and these are found at an elevation 
of about 8,000 ft. above sea level. The cedar was well 
known to the Sumerian founders of Eridu, the oldest city 
of Babylonia, six to eight thousand years ago. It is a tree 
of only moderate height, 50 to 80 ft., with massive trunk 
and large branches; some fine specimens of cedar of 
Lebanon are to be found in Britain, among other places at 
Sion House, Goodwood, Hopetown, Dalkeith, and a few 
scattered about Enfield. The heart of the timber is 
reddish brown, the sap reddish white, the wood is straight 
grained but porous, somewhat like larch in appearance, 
and though the timber had a high reputation in ancient 
times, that grown in Europe is soft and brittle, liable to 
warp, but in some outside situations durable. The name 
cedar is given to many trees which are not true cedars ; 
the Siberian stone pine is called cedar, and the red cedar 
of California is a species of fir, the Virginian or red cedar 
of the United States is a species of juniper, and some of 
the American so-called cedars are cypresses. There are 
some very fine trees amongst the North American cedars 
which produce valuable timber suitable for inside or 
ornamental work and other purposes. 
Red Cedar is one of the most widely distributed and one 
of the most valuable of American forest trees. It is rare 
in Canada, but grows along the St. Lawrence and on the 
north of Lakes Ontario and Erie, and from there to the 
Gulf of Mexico and as far west as Texas and Nebraska, and 
is most extensively found in Alabama, Florida, and Ten- 
nessee ; few trees exhibit a greater indifference to soil and 
climate, and it must be very hardy, adapting itself as it 
does to such a wide range. 
There are two varieties, the northern red cedar {Jumperus 
