I 
halting-place of Abraham. In the after history of the Jewish nation, Ezekiel mentions a perversion of 
these primitive sanctuaries — " then- slain men shall be among- then- idols, * * * under every tliick 
Oak, (Tei-cbinth), the place where they did offer sweet savom- to all their idols" (Ezek. vi. 13). 
The Terebinth tree belongs to the genus Pistacia, of which three or four species are distributed over 
various parts of the south of Eoi-ope, Northern Africa, and the Levant. The species considered as the Tere- 
binth of the Bible, is the Pistacia. Tcrebintlats of botanists, the source of the Chian, or Cypress tiu-pentine. 
It is a deciduous tree, with sprcadingbranchcs, bearing alternate impari-pinnate leaves, having aboutsevcn 
ovate-lanceolate leaflets, somewhat rounded at the base, and acute at the tips. The flowers are inconspicu- 
ous, disposed in racemes, and succeeded by rounded, somewhat fm-rowed fruit, becoming reddish, and 
finally changing to black, or a very dark blue, when ripe ; the kernel, " clammie, fuU of fat, and oilous 
in substance, and of a pleasant savom-." The leaves and flowers emit a very resinous odom-, which 
is more especially observable at sunset, when the dew is falling, after a very wai-m day. 
" The turpentine is px'ocui'ed from the P. Tcrehinthus, by making numerous slight incisions in the 
trunk, and principal branches, from the ground as high up the trunk as a man can reach, fr-om the 
loth to the 20th of July, according to the Greek Calendar. The Terebinth oozes out of the wounds 
made in the bark, and, in a few days, becomes hard and dry, by exposure to the air, as in the case of 
the resins produced by the Pine tribe, and with resins generally ; the coloiu' is a bluish or greenish 
white. It is collected every morning, fi'om the womids in the trees, with a sj^atula, and is pm-ified 
from any extraneous matters that may have stuck to it, by liquefaction by solar heat, and by passing 
it thi'ough a sieve. The largest trees of fifty or sixty years growth, with trunks four or five 
feet in circumference, do not yield above ten or twelve ounces anniially ; hence the high price of the 
article, and its adulteration with Venice tm-pentinc, which is produced from the Larch ; or with common 
tui'pentine, which is drawn fi'oni the Scotch Pine. The Terebinth, which is pure, is called the Chian or Cv- 
press tm-pentine, (ft-om Chios, the ancient name of Scio) ; and, when unadulterated, it is known from 
the common tui'pentine, by being thicker, and possessing a far more agreeable odour ; it is also des- 
titute of bitterness and acridity." — {Loud. Arh. Brit.) 
This tree is not very commonly met with in English gardens, probably in consequence of its not 
being thoroughly hardy. It wiU rarely succeed, except in the most sheltered situations in the open 
borders, and requii-es a warm and thoroughly drained soil. There is a large, old, but not very hand- 
some, plant against the wall in the north-east corner of the garden of the Society of Apothecaries, at 
Chelsea, a branch of which has grown above the high wall, and formed a tree-Ukc head. This plant 
does not appear to suffer from cold, and is in tolerable vigom-. 
Two species of the genus Pistacia (P. Lentiscus and atlantica) j'ield mastich ; the fruit of another 
(P. vera) contains a kernel, which is oily and mild to the taste, and on account of which the plant is 
sometimes cultivated. This is not, however, the Pistachia nut imported fr-om the West Indies, which 
is the produce of a totally different tree. 
The last-named species of Pistacia (vera) has been taken to be the plant which yielded the " nuts " 
sent by Jacob, as a conciliatory present, to the " ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." " Take of 
the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present — a little babn, and a 
little honey, spices, and mjTi-h, nuts, and almonds" (Gen. xliii. 11). Among the translations of the 
term hotnim, which our version here renders " nuts," are the following : — -Walnuts, Hazel-nuts, Pine- 
nuts, Peaches, Dates, the ft-uit of the Terebinth, and Almonds ; but Dr Royle remarks, there is little 
doubt that Pistachio nuts is the true rendering ; for " the Hebrew word hotnim, reduced fr-om its plm-al 
form, is very similar to the Arabic hatam, applied specially to the Terebinth tree. * * It appears 
moreover, to be sometimes used genericaUy; as in some Arabic works it is applied to a tree, of which 
the kernels of the seeds are described as being of a green colour. This is the distitiguishing charac- 
teristic of the Pistacia vera, of which the fruit is well known to the Arabs by the name of Jistuh, 
which seems to be derived from the Persian pisteli. This, no doubt, gave origin to the Greek iriaTaicia, 
said by Dioscorides to be produced in Syria" {Cyc. JBib. Lit. i. 346). The nuts sent by Jacob were, 
no doubt, the produce of Syria, or easily procui-able there, and less common in Egypt. 
The Pistachio-nut tree, which extends from Syria to Affghanistan, is common in the northern or 
cooler parts of Syria, and is found in some remarkable positions in Palestine, as on Mount Tabor. The 
nuts are much eaten by the natives of countries where they are grown ; the kernel is throughout of a 
green colour, abounds in oil, and has a sweetish, agreeable taste. They form articles of commerce 
from Affghanistan to India, where they are used in a variety of ways, and ai^e much relished by 
Em-opeans. Considerable quantities are also annually exported fr-om Syria to Em-ope. — M. 
