CEDRUS LIBANI 
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crossed Cilicia more than once, found no Cedars; but his route did not extend into the mountainous parts, 
where alone the Cedars occur. Of those at Lebanon he says, “ These trees are now only to be found in one 
particular spot of this great range, and that in so scanty a number as not to exceed four or five hundred.” * * * § 
But he is obviously not speaking from personal observation (his route is traced on the map he gives, and 
does not diverge to Lebanon), so that he can scarcely be referred to as an authority on the subject. 
In 1816 Buckingham found, that “there are at present, I should think, about two hundred in 
number, all fresh and green. They look, on approaching them, like a grove of Lirs, but, on coming nearer, 
are found to be in general much larger, though the foliage still keeps its resemblance. There are about 
twenty that are very large, and, among them, several that have trunks from 10 to 12 feet in diameter, with 
branches of corresponding size, each of them like large trees, extending outwards from the parent stock, and 
overshadowing a considerable space of ground.” t 
In 1818, Dr. Robert Richardson specifies seven as very large. “There are in this little clump two 
generations of trees, the oldest are large and massive, rearing their heads to an enormous height, and 
spreading their branches afar. We measured one of them, which we afterwards saw was not the 
largest in the clump, and found it 32 feet in circumference. Seven of these trees have a particularly 
antient appearance; the rest are younger, but equally tall, though, for want of space, their branches are not 
so spreading. The clump is so small that a person may walk round it in half-an-hour.” I 
In 1818, M. L. L. Cassas visited the Cedars while travelling in the East; and although he published 
no account of his journey, we preserve his name here because he took on the spot a drawing of the Grove, 
which M. Loiseleur published in his “ Histoire du Cedre.” 
It is curious to observe the different eyes with which men view these interesting objects. “ Many 
men, many minds,” is a proverb applicable to this, as to everything else. According to Irby and Mangles, 
in their travels, “The land on the mountain side has a sterile aspect, and the trees are the more remarkable 
as they stand altogether in one clump, and are the only trees to be seen in this part of Lebanon. There 
may be about fifty of them, but their present appearance ill corresponds with the character given of them in 
Scripture. There was not one of them at all remarkable for its dimensions or its beauty. The largest 
among them is formed by the junction of four or five trunks into one tree.” § 
Ehrenberg travelled through the district in 1823; but, on referring to his works, we have failed to come 
upon any account of the Cedars. The statements we have already quoted on his authority are from 
“ Robinson’s Biblical Researches,” and Sir Joseph Hooker’s paper on the Cedars in the Natural History 
Review , January 1862. 
Wolff, the well-known Bokhara traveller, about this time visited the Grove, and counted thirteen large 
and antient Cedars and numerous small ones, making in the whole 387 trees.II 
An American clergyman, the Rev. J. Paxton, who visited the Grove in 1828, did not count them, 
which, he says, would have been no easy matter: but he counted a small section, and was disposed to think 
that there might be 300 to 500 trees that are above a foot in diameter, possibly 150 that may be above 2 
feet, and above 50 or 60 that may be from 3 to 4 feet. Of the few he measured, the largest was 39 feet in 
circumference, one 32, one 29, one 28, and one 23.^ 
Another American clergyman, the Rev. Pliny Lisk, visited the Grove about the same time, and 
mentions that the largest of the trees is about 40 feet in circumference, six or eight others are also very 
large, several of them nearly the size of the largest; but each of these is manifestly one or more trees, which 
have grown together, and now form one. He counted the trees, and made the whole number 389 ; and 
* Journey through Asia Minor, Armenia, and Koordistan. By J. M'Donald Kinneir, 1818. 
f Travels among the Arab Tribes inhabiting the Countries east of Syria and Palestine. By James Silk Buckingham. 1825, p. 476. 
X Travels along the Mediterranean and Ports adjacent, in company with the Earl of Belmore, during the years 1816, ’17, T8, &c. By Robert Richardson, M.D. London, 
1822, vol. ii. p. 573. 
§ Irby and Mangles’ Travels in Egypt, Nubia, Syria, and Asia Minor. 1833, p. 65. 
|| Missionary Journal, 1823 and r824. 
11 Rev. J. Paxton, as quoted by Kitto in his Physical Geography and Natural Plistory of Palestine, 1841. 
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