556 
FLOWERS AND FRUITS OF SCRIPTURE. 
grance. All tlic most sacred and valuable 
works in that peninsula are made of this 
wood — and not unworthily, for such is the 
odour, hardness, and veiny colourations of the 
wood, that those who have seen articles of 
furniture manufactured from it, cannot wonder 
at the preference." If a species of fir tree is 
to be understood, there is none certainly more 
worthy of selection than the Deodar; but it is 
objected to this, that it is- found only in situa- 
tions which must have been all but inacces- 
sible. The Deodar cedar is apparently sup- 
ported by the reading of the Authorized Version 
(2 Chron. ii. 8) : " Send me also cedar trees, 
fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon ;." 
but the parallel passage (1 Kings v. 6 and 10), 
" Hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon ;" " So 
Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees, 
according to all his desire," favours the idea 
that Lebanon in the former text refers only 
to the cedars and firs, and not to the algum, 
if indeed the latter name is not an inter- 
polation. Add to this, that if the algum is 
supposed to be the cedar — the common kind, 
the cedar of Lebanon, and the better kind 
from Ophir, the cedar of India, then in the 
former text the mention of " cedar trees" and 
"algum trees" would be mere repetitions, 
which is not likely to be the fact. 
There is less reason in support of the 
Thuja articulata, which is the plant adopted 
by Lady Calcott as the representative of the 
Algum. In fact the substance of her argu- 
ment may be stated thus : — The Algum trees 
furnished to King Solomon were wholly dedi- 
cated to pious or regal uses. Theophrastus 
recommends the timber of Thyine trees for 
temples, and such buildings as should be 
almost everlasting. Thyine is doubtless the 
Algum of Scripture, the modern Thuja arti- 
culata. As it was easily procurable by the 
ships of Tyre from the port of Cyrene and 
those of Mauritania, Hiram would naturally 
send so precious a material for the building 
of the Temple ; and that it came to Jerusalem 
from Joppa with the firs and cedars appears 
certain. In all this, however, we perceive no 
evidence that the Thyine or Thuja articulata, 
is identical with the Algum. 
We must now pass on to a summary of 
Dr. Royle's arguments in support of the 
claims of the Sandal-wood {Santalum album) : — 
The Sandal-wood, though a produce of the 
Malabar coast, became early known in differ- 
ent and distant parts of India. One cannot 
help thinking that growing so near the coast, 
and being possessed of such remarkable fra- 
grance, it must have attracted attention as 
early as any other product of India. The 
deficiency of timber both in Arabia and 
Egypt, combined with the active commerce 
which seems to have existed at all times in 
the Red Sea, must always have created a 
demand for timber, which must have been 
supplied from a variety of sources. In the 
present day, timber is exported from Bombay 
to the coast of Arabia. Forskal states that 
different kinds of timber were imported from 
India in his time, into Arabia. That timber 
may have been imported by the Red Sea in 
former times seems far from improbable ; 
indeed in the sacred writings we find that 
" King Solomon made a navy of ships in 
Eziongeber" on the shore of the Red Sea, 
" and they came to Ophir." The navy also 
of Hiram, " brought in from Ophir great 
plenty of Algum trees." It is evident from 
the Bible narrative, that the voyage to Ophir 
was commenced at the head of the Red Sea, 
and that the ships went to Tarshish as well 
as to Ophir in this voyage. Without arguing 
the site of these places, it may be allowed to 
infer that as a great variety of indubitable 
Indian products were known to the ancients, 
as Agila-wood, spikenard, cinnamon, pepper, 
and others, so it is evident that there must 
have been a commerce with India at very early 
times ; and to it therefore we should look for 
the cargo of precious stones, ivory, apes and 
peacocks, gold and silver, as well as for the 
Algum or Almug-trees. The parts of India 
which were reached at the earliest times were 
Crocala, now Curachee, and Barugaza, now 
Baroach. These ports are very little distant 
from, and can easily communicate with, those 
on the coast of Malabar, and even with 
Ceylon ; and thus we may account for pre- 
cious stones, cinnamon, and pepper forming 
such early articles of commerce. But the 
merchants who visited the Malabar coast for 
pepper must have touched at the very ports 
in the neighbourhood of which Sandal-wood 
grows, and from which we have seen it must 
long have been exported as an article of com- 
merce. The Ophir and Tarshish of the 
above passages of Scripture, must have been 
to the southward of the Red Sea, and one of 
them, at least, we conceive, some part of 
India. From thence the whole of the above 
cargo might at any time have been easily 
obtained. Any wood or tree which formed 
part of the cargo, and was thought worthy of 
record, must have possessed some remarkable 
properties not common in the trees of the 
Mediterranean region. Sandal-wood forming 
a straight trunk, though not large, and being 
close-grained, and possessed of such remark- 
able and agreeable fragrance, could not fail 
to attract the attention of any merchants 
visiting the coasts where it grew. As it was 
equally well-fitted for making pillars or 
terraces, as for musical instruments, so we 
conceive that there is no other tree better 
entitled than the Sandal-wood, to be the 
