248 
ARBOR DA V MANUAL. 
TREES OF THE BIBLE. 
N O less than five of the eight zones recognized by geographers are repre¬ 
sented within the limited area of Palestine. On the snow-capped peaks 
of Lebanon, the climate approaches an Arctic severity, while the lower parts of 
the Jordan valley experience a tropical heat. Between these extremes of tem¬ 
perature we have the climates of the western coasts, the inland plains and low¬ 
est hills,' the higher uplands and the loftier table lands beyond Jordan. Out of 
this strangely varied climate springs a corresponding complexity in the vege¬ 
table life of the country. The paper reeds of Egypt, and the palms and 
acacias of the desert are represented equally with the oaks, willows and junipers 
of Europe. On the plains of the coast and the southern highlands, grow the 
Aleppo pine, the myrtle and ilex, the gray olive, and the green arbutus, the 
carob or locust tree, the orange and citron, the vine, the fig tree, and the 
pomegranate. The bay and the oleaster flourish on the hills, and the streams 
are overhung by the roseate blossoms of the oleander. On the rest of the table 
lands, which constitute the greater part of Palestine, both east and west of the 
Jordan, flourish pines and junipers, the terebinth, the almond, apricot, and 
peach, the hawthorn and mountain ash, the ivy and honeysuckle, the wal¬ 
nut and mulberry; oaks, poplars and willows, the majestic cedars of Lebanon, 
the melancholy cypress, and the plane tree with its wide-spreading shade. In 
the Jordan valley, the date palm flourished, — here grew the-acacia and juniper 
of Scripture. 
The slopes of the two ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, are terraced for 
grain and a variety of fruit trees, ruddy orchards and groves of mulberry, the 
characteristic tree of Lebanon,— oranges, peaches, apricots, plums, cherries 
and almonds thrive at different elevations, according to their several ranges of 
temperature. Here the vine and the pomegranate yield their rich products. 
In the warmer and more sheltered spots, the palm and the olive, the fig and the 
walnut find a congenial home; green oaks abound higher up on the mountain 
side, and higher still, the pine, cypress and juniper crown the successive zones 
of vegetation with their sombre foliage. On Lebanon, such northern species 
as the mountain ash, the box and the barberry have found a refuge, while 
humbler plants, like the wild rose, geranium and honeysuckle, impart a pleasing 
aspect to the scene. And beside the many “ streams from Lebanon,” willows ' 
and poplars, the oriental plane, and the crimson oleander, with a mass of low¬ 
lier vegetation, flourish as in Bible days. 
Beyond Jordan, pine forests clothe the summits of the highest hills; lower 
down, woods of evergreen oak adorn the park like scenery of ancient Gilead 
and Bashan, and mingled with them the rich foliage of the myrtle, the arbutus, 
and the carob or locust tree, varied with the pink and white blossoms of the 
broom bush. 
The northern portion of Lake Huleh, the Biblical “ Waters of Merom,” is cov¬ 
ered by an immense tract of floating thickets of papyrus, and white and yellow 
water lilies adorn the more open portions. A few palm trees grow near the end 
of the lake, and Josepus alludes to these, and to the fact that walnuts, figs and 
