THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 141 
“Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree’; and again 
(Isa. 60 ch., 13), “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, 
the fir-tree, the pine-tree and the box together, to beautify the 
place of my sanctuary.” 
Juniper. The plant commonly referred to in the Bible 
under this name, is really not a juniper, but a species of broom 
(Roetama roetam). The Hebrew name rothem, so translated, 
is the same as the Arabic retem. It is a common desert plant 
growing to a height of 10 or 12 feet, and is mentioned in 1 
Kings, 19 ch., 4, 5, as the tree under which Elijah took shelter 
from the mob when pursued by Jezebel. The Arabs made char- 
coal of the roots, hence the allusion in Ps. 120, v., 4, where 
David calls for “sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of 
juniper” as a punishment for his detractors. The use of the 
roots as food by the Edomites in the time of their extremity is 
mentioned (Job 30 ch., 4). 
Locust-tree. In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke, 15 
ch., 16), “the husks which the swine did eat” were the sweet 
pods of the carob or locust tree (Ceratonia siliqua), which is 
abundant in Palestine, the pods are still used for feeding stock. 
The generic name is derived from the Greek Keratia the term 
applied to the pods from their fancied resemblance to Keras a 
horn. Some commentators consider that these pods were the 
“locusts” which with wild honey formed the food of Jolin the 
Baptist when in the wilderness (Matt. 3 ch., 4), but this is now 
considered erroneous. From this mistaken idea arose the name 
“S. John’s bread,” the “Johannisbrod” of the Germans, applied 
to the pods. Various species of the predatory locusts’ were 
cooked and used for food and they were amongst the creatures 
specially sanctioned by Moses (Ley. 11 ch., 22). “Ye may eat 
of . . . the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his 
kind.” The insects are eaten over a wide range in Africa and 
the East. In taste they are stated to resemble red herrings and 
are esteemed a delicacy. 
Mulberry-tree. In 2 Sam. 5 ch., 23-24, the Hebrew word 
bekaim has been rendered mulberry in the Auth. Vers. This re- 
fers in all probability to a trembling poplar (Populus euphra- 
tica) and explains verse 24 “when thou hearest the sound of go- 
ing in the tops of the mulberry trees,” which clearly refers to 
the rustling in the wind of the foliage of the poplar. 
Black mulberry. (Morus nigra) is in the New Testament 
called the sycamine tree. It is mentioned in the parable, Luke 
