CONIFERS. THE CEDRllS, OR CEDAR. 
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CONIFER^.— The Cedrus, or Cedar. 
Cedrus, Barretter (the Cedar). — Deriva- 
tion doubtful, probably from Kedron, or 
Cedron, a rivulet in Syria, on the banks of 
which the cedar trees grew in Biblical times. 
— Evergreen trees. 
Cedrus Libani, Barrelier (Cedar of Leba- 
non). — Leaves tufted, straight, slender, ever- 
green, persistent, of a dark grassy colour, one 
inch in length. Cones from three to five 
inches long, erect, rather oblong, very obtuse, 
with broad, close-pressed, leathery scales. 
A tree of Syria, remarkable for the diver- 
sity of form which it assumes, frequently 
grand and towering, yet often a huge heap of 
verdure, and sometimes, indeed, sending out 
large roaming branches trailing on the ground. 
It has a depth of shade which no other tree 
possesses: it is solemn beyond any other 
ligneous object ; and, in sacred historical re- 
membrance, it is the greatest of all trees. It 
is one of those few objects which will never 
be displaced by any new comers, for in its 
better aspects it scarcely admits of any rivalry. 
It is not reserved for us of the present day to 
be the first to praise it ; for ever since it rose 
on the mountains of Syria, with its great, flat- 
tened, hawk-like wings, sharp against the 
clear sky, it was aptly pronounced to be the 
' excellency of Lebanon." There were those 
who saw it from the holy city who ever after- 
wards had loftier ideas of the God of Nature ; 
and lest any one should suppose this to be a 
mere piece of fancy, it is only necessary to 
refer to that well- chosen and fervent request 
of Moses, who had a strong desire to see the 
mount which was then so beauteously adorned 
with its cedars : "I pray thee," he says, "let 
me go over and see the good land that is be- 
yond Jordan ; that goodly mountain, and 
Lebanon ! " 
As usually beheld in this country, the 
cedar is a spreading, majestic, solemn-looking, 
evergreen tree. Even in level countries, such 
as Norfolk, many parks and pleasure grounds 
are by the aid of it invested with considerable 
grandeur. Houghton park, once the seat of 
Walpole, though as flat as a bowling-green, is 
a striking instance of this fact. Around Lon- 
don it has been planted extensively ; and 
every one who is at all concerned about trees, 
knows the many magnificent specimens to be 
found in that district. At Chelsea, Syon, 
Clareinont, Whitton, Pepper Harrow, Chis- 
wick, and many other places, it has put on all 
its characteristic beauty, equalling some of the 
famous cedars of old. But why should it be 
kept so long as one of our garden elegancies ? 
No one can object to it as a suburban tree ; 
nay, it is highly appropriate in such places ; 
but it might have been long since, at the sug- 
gestion of the landscape gardener, darkening 
many of the steep and cloudy mountains of 
the North ; such of them at least as are in the 
vicinity of residences. In the more distant 
parts of country seats, where rugged scenery 
abounds, this tree might be made to command 
astonishment and reverence where merely a 
pleasing idea is at present excited. In old 
age, and when in masses, the darkling gran- 
deur of the cedar in the neighbourhood of 
rocks, and contrasted with lighter foliage, 
reaches to the sublime, and certainly forms one 
of the most striking combinations to be found 
amongst inanimate objects. If we except the 
Highland pine {Pinns sylvestris horizontalis), 
no tree has the slightest pretension to be 
reckoned equal to it in dignifying any given 
spot ; but with some other trees, it is apt to be 
badly misplaced by the uninitiated. There is 
a scene, for instance, at Sluie, on the banks of 
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