THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 145 
of vines and fig-trees and pomegranates.” The Israelites when 
sojourning in the wilderness complained that Moses had brought 
them out of Egypt, “a place of figs, vines and pomegranates.”’ 
Several towns in Palestine were named in_Hebrew rimmon after 
the plant. For the capitals of the pillars of the Temple the 
fruit and flowers supplied models and also for the embroidered 
decoration of the High Priests robes (Exod. 28 ch., 33-34), 
“and beneath upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pome- 
granates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet.’ The orna- 
mental net work covering the pillars Jachin and ‘Boaz, had 400 
figures of pomegranates worked into the patteen 1 Kings 7 ch., 
18, 42; 2 Kings. 25 ch., 17). 
Wine was made from the fruit (Song. Sol. 8 ch. 2). Sym- 
bolical allusions to the tree occur also in Song. Sol. 6 ch., 11, and 
7 ch, 12. 
Sycamore. (Ficus sycomorus). Hebrew shikmim, Greek 
sukomorea, the Greek name being derived from sukon fig, and 
moron mulberry. Amos (7 ch., 14), described himself to Ama- 
ziah as “a gatherer of sycamore fruit.” Literally translated this 
means “one who scraped or cut” sycamore fruit. The signi- 
ficance of this lies in the fact that this was a poor fruit com- 
pared with the fig and to render it edible it was necessary to 
serape or cut off the top of the fruit when nearly ripe in order 
to permit the acrid juice to escape. The tree was small and 
easily climbed and we read (Luke 19 ch, 4), that Zaccheus ran 
and climbed into one when Christ was ‘pproaching. We have 
already seen (1 Kings. 10 ch., 27: 2 Chron. 1 Cham ohe27))s 
how Solomon made cedar to be a. abundant as sycamores. The 
timber was light but durable, and was the principal timber 
used by the Egyptians in the construction of mummy cases. 
Shittah-tree. (Acacia seyal). There is only one reference 
to the tree (Isa. 41 ch., 19), but shittim wood is frequently men- 
tioned in accounts of the making of the Tabernacle in the wilder- 
ness (Hxod. 25 ch., to 30). It grew abundantly in hot dry 
situations, several of which are named after it, Joel 3 ch., 18, 
“a fountain shall water the valley of Shittim.” “And Israel 
abode in Shittim’ (Numb. 25 ch., 1), this being the last camp- 
ing place before they crossed the Jordan into the promised land, 
and, by the way, in which they behaved so badly. 
Terebinth or Teil-tree. (Pistacia terebinthus). There are 
‘several references under the Hebrew name elah, signifying a 
strong, robust tree, which have been variously rendered. Thus 
in Isa. 6 ch., 13, the word is translated “Teil-tree”’; in Gen. 35 
