134 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 
Science.” In 1911 after very considerable advances had been 
made in our knowledge of the botany of Palestine, Egypt and 
the adjacent countries, Dr. A. B. Rendle, of the British Museum; 
issued a useful guide to the plants of the Bible. To all of these 
and other sources of information, I am indebted. I have en- 
deavoured to select the conclusions, in doubtful or disputed cases, 
to which my own studies have led, and which appear to me most 
in accordance with what I judge to be the facts. 
It is only when we approach the subject in this spirit, 
seeking to elicit what is true and to arrive at a correct inter- 
pretation of the allusions in Holy Writ, that we can hope to 
understand and appreciate the full beauty and the incidence of 
parable and record. 
_Progress in Biblical botanical research was long hindered 
by the fact that of the multitude of writers who visited the 
Holy Land few were qualified to deal with this aspect of the 
subject from a scientific standpoint. 
We have the highest authority for the study of plants, for 
did not the Saviour himself say:—‘Consider the lilies of the 
field, how they grow,” and apart from that the allusions in the 
Bible to plants, both historical and sentimental, are numerous 
and important. We should remember that the imagery of the 
parables, was, as Duns says, borrowed from the scenes. amidst 
which they were spoken, and so. it is all the more necessary for 
their full understanding that we should have an accurate know- 
ledge of these scenes. It has been estimated by Dr. Rendle 
that at least 120 different plants are mentioned in the Bible, 
and as he points out, at the date of issue of the Authorised 
Version, knowledge of botany was in a very crude state, while 
the devout, but botanically ignorant students who carried out 
the translation were in no sense qualified to deal. with technical 
names. ; 
In following up our subject, rather than attempt to adhere 
to a strictly botanical system of classification, I have arranged 
the plants in no definite order, but have taken trees and timbers 
first and followed on with herbs and smaller plants. 
Box-wood. There are several allusions to this timber, which, 
it is fairly certain, refer to Bucxus latifolia, the Box-tree of 
Palestine, a tree closely allied to B. sempervirens, of Europe. 
The timber is hard grained and durable. It is mentioned under 
the Hebrew term teashur in various parts of the Bible. Thus 
Ezek. 27 ch., 6, in the account of Tyrus and its trade, in des- 
cribing the ships, uses the terms ashur which is considered an 
abbreviation of the former name. The term Ashurites should be 
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