Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/plantstreesofscr12reli library* OF THE UNIYERSUr OF IHJNO® THE DATE PALM. THE PLANTS AND TREES OE SCRIPTURE; AND THE GEOGRAPHY OE PLANTS. LONDON: THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY: Instituted 1799 . 56 , PATERNOSTER ROW, 65 , ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD, AND 164 , PICCADILLY. <5~T~D 7 S/S Y\ \-Z. cry vss V 0 tft PREFACE. -In the following pages a few substances have -been introduced, which, like the spikenard and "the cinnamon, are rather vegetable products than, strictly speaking, Plants of Scripture. 'TThe prominent place which these occupy in ^~fche Sacred Writings, as well as their immediate r —connexion with the subject of the volume, has 7 induced the author to include them. Some of the less distinctly ascertained vegetable pro- ductions, as the stacte and onycha , have, on account of the limited nature of the work, been 327482 IV PREFACE. left unnoticed ; while some other natural pro- ducts, which may or may not be plants, as the bdellium and dove's dung , are not placed in this list of the Plants of Scripture. CONTENTS CHAPTER I.— Grass, Herbs, etc. .... II. — Thorns and Thistles III. — The Olive Tree .... IV. — The Vine V.— The Terebinth, or Turpentine Tree Elm, and Teil Tree VI. — Lentiles VII.— The Oak VIII.— Almonds, Pistachio, and Hazel IX.— Bitter Herbs . . X.— Cinnamon and Cassia .... XI.— Rye XII.— The Pomegranate .... XIII. — Coriander XIV. — Cucumbers, Melons, Leeks, Onions, and Garlic XV.— Wheat XVI.— Flax XVII.— The Bramble XVIII.— The Tamarisk • XIX.— Beans * . XX.— Barley XXI.— The Hyssop XXII.— The Almug Tree .... XXIII. — The Broom XXIV.— The Wild Gourd and Wild Vine XXV.— The Sycomore Thee .... XXVI. — The Mallow XXVII.— The Cockle XXVIII. — The Bay Tree XXIX.— The Cedar of Lebanon XXX.— The Palm Tree .... XXXI.-The Willow XXXII.— The Fir Tree, Cypress, and Gopher Wood XXXIII.— Thf. Cater Plant .... PAGE 7 13 . 19 y!4 26 30 .32 36 39 40 45 49 50 57 59 61 63 69 70 74 78 80 83 86 89 91 92 94 98 103 106 109 VI CONTENTS, CHAPTER PAGE XXXIV.— The Lily ... ... 112 XXXV. — Camphire, or Henna .... 117 XXXVI.— Saffron ....... 119 XXXVII.— The Mandrake 121 XXXVIII.—' The Rush Bulrush 122 XXXIX.— The Nettle .*.... 126 XL.— Cummin 127 XLI. — Fitches 128 XLII.— The Rose 130 XLIII.— The Shittah Tree .... 135 XL1V.— The Pine Tree 137 XLV.— The Myrtle 137 XLVI.— The Box Tree and Ashur Wood . . 140 XLVII.— The Ash Tree 141 XLVIIl.— B alm of Gilead and Spices . . .142 XLIX.— Wormwood 145 L.— Heath 146 LI.— Millet ....... 148 LII.— Ebony 149 LIII.— The Chesnut, or Plane Tree . . 151 LI V.— The Poplar and Mulberry Trees 153 LV.— The Hemlock 157 LVI.— The Apple Tree and Citron . . . 158 LV1I.— Jonah’s Gourd 161 LVIII.— The Fig Tree 164 LIX.— Myrrh 168 LX.— The Reed, Rush, and Sweet Cane . 171 LXI.— Tares 175 LXI I.— Mustard 177 LXIII.— Anise 179 LXIV.— The Spikenard Plant . . . .180 LX V.— Mint 183 LXVI.— Rue 184 LXVII.— 1 The Carob Tree . . . . . 186 LXVIIL— The Sycamine Tree 188 LX1X.— Aloes 190 IXX.— Thyine Wood ...... 191 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER I. GRASS, HERBS, ETC. “ God said, Let tlie earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yield- ing fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth : and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding Seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind : and God saw that it was good,” Gen. i. 11, 12. Thus the Almighty word spake into existence the vast vegetable kingdom, and called from chaos a world of order and beauty. No need was there of long years to perfect his wondrous work. Man must study and toil ere even the smallest of his productions can attain its limited per- fection ; but God spake and it was done, he commanded and it stood fast, and the evening and the morning of the third day, as they dawned 8 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. or closed, witnessed the rapid clothing of earth in its verdant dress, and heard the approving words of Jehovah, when, beholding it, he de- clared it to be good. It was in its matured state that every plant now uprose into life and beauty. Its seed was in itself, and though it grew not as yet, till God caused the rain to fall upon the earth, and created man to till the ground, still there went up a mist from the earth, which watered the whole face of the ground, and preserved its freshness ; so that when man, for whose sake it had been formed, came into being, he found it greener and lovelier, and arranged in more resplendent colouring, than we, in this fallen world, can imagine. The corn probably waved on the hills, the vine clustered over the fig tree, which v^as yielding its ov r n fruits, and the emerald hue of the meads w r as varied doubt- less by flowers more beautiful than those which still spring by thousands on hill and dale, glad- dening the senses, and cheering the spirit of man by their odours. “ Spring robed the vales. With what a flood of light She held her revels in that sunny clime. The flower-sown turf, like bossy velvet bright. The blossomed trees exulting in their prime !” Yes, the v r ide world is still beautiful — it is still a garden of God ; but it is probably a faint shadow of the world v'ben it was first created, and no earthly garden now can compare with the lustre of the garden of Eden. Oar first parents must have gazed on the GRASS, HERBS, ETC. 9 green earth with intense feelings of innocent delight. With intellects instructed by Jehovah, though untaught by experience, they must have felt all the love of novelty with which the young child looks on nature, added to the sublime contemplation of the world and its great Creator, for which they were fitted from the moment when God breathed into them the breath of life, and they became living souls. The fruits and the green herb were given them for meat, and were to be kept in order, by that moderate exertion which should have served but to vary the leisure of their existence ; and to be in a garden, to dress it and to keep it, was the happy lot ordained for them, till sin spread its baleful influence, alike on the heart of man and the face of nature, withering the purity of the soul, and the outward beauty of the earth. As Pliny observed, many centuries since, no colour is more pleasant to the eye than green, and a great enjoyment is borne into the mind as the eye looks on the grass and green leaves — an enjoyment the more appreciated by him who has travelled over deserts in the scorching season, and marked their sterile brown tint, varied only as it softened into the purple or azure of the distant horizon. And how uni- versal is the “ grass and the green herb !” Even the wide deserts of the east are, in most cases, covered during the winter and spring with a rich and tender grass, and the most desolate and arid wastes have still their oases — u the pas- tures of the wilderness,” of which the psalmist A 2 10 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. speaks, when he says of them that “ the little hills rejoice on every side :” and the green places shout for joy, yea also sing, Psa. lxv. 9-13, as God makes the earth soft with showers, and blesses the springing thereof. Lofty mountains, whose tops are covered with snow, have their valleys and pastures of loveliest verdure, and u the herbs of the mountains are gathered” in their own secluded dwelling-places. The Hebrews were accustomed to describe under two heads the whole vegetable kingdom. All were included in the trees and grass, or, as some render it, herbage. In the latter division, herbs and flowers, whose stems die away in winter, found their place. Thus w r e find our Saviour speaking of the u lilies of the field” as the u grass of the field,” Matt. vi. 30. On the other hand, small shrubs and creeping plants with woody stems, were called trees, in the popular language of the east, and we find the vine classed with the lofty cedars, and the wide- spread fig tree among the trees, in the ex- pressive parable which Jotham indignantly uttered to the men of Shechem, Judges ix. 7-15. In the account given of the creation, however, by Moses, we have the vegetable kingdom divided into three classes ; and the herb fully ripened, “ yielding seed, whose seed was in itself,” is distinguished from the short sprouting young grass, which, in ancient times, was thought to bear no seed. The poetry of the Holy Scriptures, abundant as it is in reference to all objects of nature, is so 11 GRASS, HERBS, ETC. peculiarly rich in its allusions to trees, and herbs, and flowers, that Michaelis has observed it might almost be termed botanical poetry. Plants are alluded to in nearly three hundred places in the sacred volume. Those passages in which grass affords some comparison are many and expressive. Now the doctrine of God, entering and refreshing the heart of man, is described “ as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass,” Deut. xxxii. 2 ; and the grass of the field, and the green herb, which grows in the morning, and in the evening is cut down and withered, is a familiar allusion to the shortness of man’s life. The green herb and the grass on the house-top, withered the sooner, because of their elevated situation, form a suitable and beautiful figure, to express the transient nature of worldly prosperity ; and the great fruitfulness and abundant growth of the grass suggested it to the psalmist as an image, when he declared that “ they of the city shall flou- rish like grass of the earth ; ” while the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, and that too of a more glorious, a spiritual body, is taught by a reference, made by St. Paul, to one of the grasses, the wheat of the corn-field, 1 Cor. xv. 37. The grass of eastern countries is better fitted than that of our own lands for some of the comparisons of Scripture. Though often so luxuriant as to reach the saddle of the rider who traverses the grassy plains, yet it withers often almost before it grows up. In no eastern land is it made into hay, for by the time it has 12 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. arrived at maturity its juices are already so dried as to make it unnecessary to spread it to the sun, as we do in our fields ; but its sudden scorching renders the dried grass less nutri- tious than that gradually made into hay. It is cut down either while green or dried, and the fresh pasturages of the wilderness, with their soft green herbage, are sought by the Arabs of the east, who lead their horses thither in the season. In some places, the long dry grass is burned down, in order to enable the animals to reach the young green shoots, sprouting up under it. Burchell saw this done on the deserts of Africa. Speaking of the rising grass just sprout- ing out its green leaves, he says, “ that on lands where ' the dried herbage had been cleared, many extensive patches had the beautiful verdure of a field of wheat ; while in places where the cattle had not been led, the green blades were hidden by the old withered grass ; a circumstance which gave to the plains a more pale and arid appearance, than if the yearly crop had been grazed down as in Europe.” In the description of the summer season, which Solomon gives in the book of Proverbs, as well as in the prophecy of the desolation of Moab, uttered by Isaiah, our translators have incor- rectly rendered the original Hebrew word by hay, u For the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate : for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing,” says the prophet, Isa. xv. 6. Dr. Taylor, in his fragments appended to Calmet’s Dictionary, remarking on the im- THORNS AND THISTLES. 13 propriety of this translation, adds, that it should be given thus : “So that the tender risings of the grass are withered, the tender buddings of the grass are entirely ruined ; green it was not ; that is, it never came to greenness.” The passage in the book of Proverbs is ren- dered far more expresive by the more correct translation : “ The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showetli itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered,” are the words of our version, Prov. xxvii. 25. The author be- fore quoted would thus render it : “ The tender risings of the grass are in motion, and the bud- dings of grass appear, and the tufts of grass (proceeding from the same root) collect them- selves together, and by their union begin to clothe the mountain-tops with pleasing verdure.” CHAPTER II. THORNS AND THISTLES. Unto Adam God said, “ Cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life , thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field,” Gen. iii. 17, 18. This sad transition in the inspired relation from the account of the garden in which grew “ every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food,” and from among whose groves Adam talked with his Maker, as 14 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. “ a man talketh with his friend,” to the thorn and thistle, the toil and sorrow, is equally pain- ful and rapid. Sin soon blighted all that was holiest and loveliest, and the moral and material world alike suffered. The first transgressors soon wept under the woe entailed upon their race, and crime and death came to prove the loss of innocence and the power of the curse, when the voice of a brother’s blood ciied from the ground. It is of little use to speculate on the details of the curse pronounced on vegetation. We may ask but none can reply, Were there briers and thorns in the earth at its creation, or did they now invest the plants for the first time ? We have no reason, however, to believe that any subsequent creation has taken place since that period when God made this world from nothing. We see now how cultivation will alter in some degree the nature of plants. There were probably thorns and thistles in paradise, but they were few in number ; when, however, God cursed the soil, the thorny plants spread and became more thorny, and a wildness of growth probably took the place of the ordered and neat arrangement in which the plants first grew in the field, till the briers became so nu- merous as often to mock the toil of the hus- bandman, who, “ in the sweat of his brow,” labours to exterminate them. As the thorn and thistle were denounced on the whole earth, and not only on that land which was the seat of paradise, so in every THORNS AND THISTLES. 15 country we see plainly, that wild plants would 3oon overrun the face of the earth, did not the labourer prevent it. In warmer regions, thorny plants are far more numerous, and growing as they do to the greatest perfection on neglected and dreary wastes, they are well fitted as expressions of desolation and of God’s displeasure ; while the thistle, though a mark of a good soil, is, when abundant, a proof too that the lands are not yielding the valued fruits of the earth, but are given up to waste. It is, however, especially interesting to remark the growth of the thorn and thistle in Palestine. Fallen as the whole world is, that once beau- tiful country now in many places presents regions covered so thickly with thorns, that we can but be reminded that it is a land more especially suffering from the wrath of God. Thistles of great magnitude abound there. The Talmudical writers speak of the abundance which in their days grew in a valley not far from Bethlehem ; and lord Lindsay saw thistles in many parts of the Holy Land, rivalling in magnitude those of his beloved Scotland. Between Nazareth and Tiberias, Dr. Clarke found the earth covered with such immense tracts of thistles, that a complete collection of them would be a valuable acqui- sition to botany. He saw one kind of wild thistle, or rather wild artichoke, with a purple head, rising to the height of five or six feet. Other travellers have described the thistles, in the lands about Mount Tabor, as having purple i G PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. fragrant flowers, bearing often twelve or fifteen heads, with stems eight feet in height. Some recent travellers, as they took their course among these luxuriant weeds, were reminded by the quantity of thistle down which was floating in the air of that passage of the prophet Isaiah, in which the seer describes the Almighty as chasing the nations, while they should “ flee far off*,” and should be chased “ like a rolling thing before the whirlwind, ’* which the margin of our Bibles renders “ the thistle down before the whirlwind,” Isa. xvii. 13. In many places throughout the country, immense patches of gaily coloured thistles give, in the distance, the appearance of lands culti- vated with some tall and showy flowers. In the passage of Scripture now particularly under notice, the words of the curse apparently signify the growth of thorny plants in general. In many parts of Scripture, we read of briers and thorns, and commentators have found very great difficulty in identifying the plants in- tended, when some specific thorn is mentioned as occurring in the scenes of Scripture narra- tive. One of the most thorny and frequent plants in Palestine is that now called by the Arabs by the name of nabka , which grows in great abundance on the hill of Jerusalem. It is the Zizyphus spina Chrisii of botanists, and its name of Christ’s thorn arises from the tradition that its branches formed the crown of thorns platted by the Roman soldiers in mockery of our Saviour. The thorns on these boughs are THORNS AND THISTLES. 17 numerous, and sharp, and strong, often an inch in length. Its pliant stems render the tradition probable ; and Dr. Iioyle observes, that, as the leaves resemble ivy, and are of a deep glossy green, perhaps the enemies of the Lord, in selecting a plant resembling that with which the Roman emperors and generals were crowned, wished to affix a calumny to the punishment. But besides the thorny zizyphus, various acacia trees grow on the desert lands of Syria, and many of them have immense thorns. Burchell mentions one species, which he found in Africa, which he approached with the inten- tion of cutting offia piece as a specimen, though the Hottentots, who well knew the plant, had cautioned him of its nature. He no sooner came near it than a twig caught his sleeve, and he became entangled beyond the power of release, without tearing every part of his clothes, and two of his men had to disentangle him by cutting the branches with a hatchet. Some species of hawthorn are common in Pales- tine, and the spiny rest harrow is thought to be meant by a word occurring in many pas- sages of Scripture. Other species of zizyphus, besides the Christ’s thorn, are abundant in the east, choking up every path, and preventing all cultivation ; and the prickly capsules of the plant called caltrops ( Tribulus terrestris ) run into the feet of man or animals, who tread the barren soils of eastern lands. Without, how- ever, pretending to give a list of the thorns of Arabia and Syria, we may quote general IS PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. accounts of the prevalence of the thorn and the thistle on the land once so highly favoured of Jehovah. “ For hours together,” say Bonar and M‘Cheyne, “ we travelled through fields of weeds and briers and thorns, such as we never saw anywhere else.” On the hills of Judah Dr. Keith found the surface so entangled with thorns, that it was impossible to make his way through them. “ We felt the same,” add these writers, “ in traversing the vast plain ot Esdraelon, (once the valley of Jezreel,) the greater part of which is covered over with almost impenetrable thickets of weeds, thorns, briers, and thistles. Some time after, when sailing up the Bosphorus, conversing with a gentleman whom we had met in Palestine, we asked him if he had climbed Mount Tabor to obtain the delightful view from its summit. His answer was, 1 No ; why should I climb Mount Tabor, to see a country of thorns?’ He was thus an unintentional witness to the truth of God’s word. 1 Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers ; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city,”’ Isa. xxxii. 13. But the curse pronounced by God was miti- gated. Judgment was tempered with mercy. The Saviour of the world has come to “ put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,” and death shall have no more power on those who take the salvation so freely offered to all. As man is renewed by that Almighty Spirit which is bestowed by the exalted lledeemer on all true THE OLIVE TREE. 19 believers, and thus made fit for the enjoyment of God, so the earth itself shall, in process of time, lose all traces of the curse, and become a fit habitation for the “ children of the Highest.” CHAPTER III. THE OLIVE TREE. u The dove came in to him in the evening ; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off : so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth,” Gen. viii. 11. We have in this passage the earliest allusion to a tree more frequently named than any other in the sacred writings, and which, above all others, is general in the scenery of Palestine — that land which Moses described as 16 a land of oil olive, and honey,” Deut. viii. 8. It was probably from the circumstance con- nected with the olive leaf in this early season of the world’s history, that it has, in subse- quent ages, been regarded as an emblem of peace ; for now it came to tell that the wrath of God to a sinful world was stayed ; and the tradition of the Greeks, that a dove first brought the olive into their land, and carried its branch to the temple of Epirus, was but a legendary variation from the fact recorded in Scripture. The olive ( Olea Europcea) is indigenous to 20 PLANTS AND TllEES OF SC1UPTUUE. Syria, as well as to the south of Europe, and some parts of Africa ; and is now, as it ever was, cultivated largely in the Holy Land. When growing in numbers it adds much to the beauty of the scenery ; and the dark green leaves, as they turn up u their silver lining to the light,” and float gently before the breeze, are very beautiful. The mountains lie about Jerusalem as they did of old. “ Judah’s olive hills” yet smile from afar, and the whitened soil of the Mount of Olives is varied by the olive tree scattered over the sides, and reaching to its utmost ridge. On these hill sides David went up, “ weeping as he went.” Here our Saviour resorted with his disciples ; and over this mountain they returned from gazing on the ascension of their Lord, when “ a cloud received him out of their sight,” Acts i. 9. The Christian traveller treads this spot with deep feeling. Second only in interest to Mount Calvary, its dark trees suggest sublime and devout thoughts to him who loves the Saviour of whom they remind him. “ This,” says Lamartine, “ was the Mount of Olives ; and these were the olive trees themselves — old wit- nesses written of on earth and in heaven ; watered by Divine tears, by sweat of blood, and so many other tears, shed since that night, which rendered them so sacred.” Nor is this poetical writer the only one who deems that the olives of Gethsemane, at the foot of the mount, are the very trees which shadowed the holy band of old. The olive is remarkable THE OLIVE TREE. 21 for its longevity, so much so, that a proverb is common in Italy — (i If you wish to leave a last- ing inheritance to your children’s children, plant an olive and several olives are growing still, near Terni, in Italy, which are believed to have existed in the days of Pliny. Bove measured the trees on the mount of the Scripture scenes. He states them to be nine or ten yards high, and the circumference of some of them to measure six yards. He believes them to be two thousand years old. Chateaubriand in- geniously infers the identity of some of the olives in the garden of Gethsemane, with those which of old gave it its expressive name of “ the garden of the oil press.” “ They are,” says this writer, 11 at least as old as the times of the eastern empire, as is demonstrated by the following circumstance : In Turkey, every olive tree found standing by the Mussulmans, when they conquered Asia, pays one medina to the treasury ; while each of those planted since the conquest is taxed half its produce. The eight olives of which we are speaking are charged only eight medinas.” The garden of Gethsemane ! What Christian would be unwilling to linger there, thinking on the Saviour who, when he trod its site, uttered those words of anguish, “ My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ! ” Living words of love, which preceded the great work of love — the atonement made by his final suffering. It is while reading the description of scenes like these that we see the intense evil of sin — that 22 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE, nothing short of Christ’s death could ransom us from its curse. It was the weight of man’s sin and sorrow which thus bowed down the heart of the Redeemer. And yet, which of us has ever mourned, with this deep grief, for our transgressions or sinful nature ? Many are content with the strange satisfaction that they are no worse than others ; and thus they go on, regardless alike of sin and its consequences, till the closing hour of life, or even, it may be, till the dawn of eternity, reveals to their souls the awful fact that they are under condemnation, for that they have lived without Christ in the world. But, blessed be God, while we can yet utter the prayer of faith for salvation, a loving Redeemer is ready to hear it, and, as our great Intercessor, to present it before the throne of the Father of our spirits. Great changes have come over the Holy Land. Since it has been trodden under the foot of the Gentiles, the palm trees have languished and gradually disappeared ; the cedars of Leba- non have become fewer, but God still clothes the Mount of Olives with the trees which shall serve to mark that peculiar spot. “ It is a curious and interesting fact,” says Carne, u that during a period of little more than two thousand years, Hebrews, Assyrians, Romans, Moslems, and Christians, have been successively in possession of the rocky mountains of Pales- tine, yet the olive tree still asserts its paternal soil, and is found there at this day.” The leaves of the olive are similar to those f THE OLIVE TREE. 23 of the willow tree, but of darker green, and white on their under surfaces, and sweet deli- cate flowers enliven the boughs in spring time. Travellers remark that there is something strongly indicative of health and vigour in the fresh green appearance of a flourishing olive tree, especially when the sun is reflected on the verdant leaves of a mass of the trees growing together, so that it is not merely the evergreen nature of the foliage, but the healthy and vigorous appearance of the tree, which sug- gested it as a figure to the inspired writers. “ The Lord called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of a goodly fruit,” said the prophet Jeremiah, chap. xi. 16 ; and “ his beauty shall be as the olive tree,” was one of the compari- sons to which Hosea likened Israel, in those glorious days when he shall return and rest under the shadow of the wing of Jehovah, chap. xiv. 6. Olive oil is still used in Western Asia for all the purposes to which we. should apply butter or animal fat, and both in Spain and Italy it is the butter of the country. The Greeks and Romans used it in the libations poured out to their “strange gods and the Jews valued the olive oil for the sacred service of the tem- ple. The boughs of the tree mingled with others to make the booths at the feast of taber- nacles, and the hard wood, still used in Italy for a variety of purposes, was employed by the builders of ancient Israel in constructing Solo- mon’s temple, 1 Kings vi. 23. The olive berries 24 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. were eaten as fruit, and in some parts of France are, with bread, still a common meal of the peasant. Some species of olive require the fruits to be first steeped in hot water, to remove the bitterness. So valuable did the Athenians consider the olive tree, that they regarded its culture as a religious duty, and consecrated it to Minerva ; and it is mentioned by Homer and almost all ancient authors. CHAPTER IV. THE VINE, “Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard,” Gen. ix. 20. The early history of the vine is involved in so much obscurity that, like corn, its native land can hardly be said to be known. Canaan was de- clared by the great Hebrew legislator to be “a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates,” yet it seems doubtful if the vine was a native of Syria. Its early culture there is, however, stated, and wine was one of the offerings brought forth by “ Mel- chizedek king of Salem,” “ the priest of the most high God,” after Abram had obtained his memorable victory, Gen. xiv. 18. The spies brought the bunch of grapes from Canaan as a proof of its fertility, and there is no doubt that immediately after the waters of the general THE VINE. 25 deluge had removed from the face of the earth, this plant was trained and reared by the hand of man. The early culture of the vine in Egypt is proved by the paintings on the tombs of that land, where the different processes of wine- making are fully portrayed, and appear to be far more extended than the simple practice of squeezing the juice from the grape, which ap- pears to have been adopted by the chief butler of Pharaoh. Though no wine is now made in Egypt, yet the plant is still abundantly cul- tivated on the sandy soils, where its growth is rapid and luxuriant, and the fragrance of the Egyptian grape is still remarkable. Nor are the leaves considered useless. One of the dishes most commonly to be seen at the table of the rich Egyptian, consists of a number of balls of hashed meat, wrapped in young vine leaves, and these leaves are so much in demand, that they are often purchased at a higher price than the grapes themselves. In Palestine, the culture of the vine in the present day is confined to some districts, and indeed that land, once made richer by the vine- dresser and the husbandman, now shows every- where the want of the steady persevering toil of the agriculturist, and reminds us of the declaration of the psalmist, u He turneth a fruit- ful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.” Yet the size and richness of flavour of the grape of the Holy Land is still unsurpassed, and the strong 26 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. and sweet wine of Lebanon maintains its ancient reputation, and the neighbourhood of Hebron, near which was the celebrated Eshcol, is still adorned with the luxuriant vine, while often the vine climbs around the fig tree, and thus they together afford that shade which led to a proverbial expression of peace and tranquillity, represented by every man sitting under his own vine and fig tree. The references to the vine in Scripture are too numerous to be here introduced. From the days of Jacob to those of our Saviour, prophets, patriarchs, and psalmists, all employed it as a figure in their writings. u The fruitful vine,” and “ the vine brought out of Egypt,” were emblems of the Jewish people, and the lord of the vineyard was the subject of one of our Saviour’s parables, while he compared himself to that true Vine of which his disciples are said to be the branches. CHAPTER V. THE TEREBINTH, OR TURPENTINE TREE, ELM, AND TEIL TREE. “ Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in He- bron, and built there an altar unto the Lord,” Gen. xiii. 18. Dr. Boothroyd thus adopts from the Syriac the latter part of this verse — “ dwelt THE TURPENTINE TREE, ELM, AND TEIL TREE. 27 at the turpentine tree of Mamre, which was by Hebron.” In some other parts of Scripture, the Hebrew word is translated “ tree ” only ; and elsewhere it is rendered “ oak,” as in Isaiah, where its translators have given it, “ as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves,” chap. vi. 13. Dr. Kitto says, that in the passage in which Abram is said to have gone “through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh,” Gen. xii. 6, it should be, “ unto the terebinth tree of Moreh.” The terebinth tree ( Pistacia terebinthus ) is a large and strong tree, so general in Pales- tine, as to be one of the most striking objects of its scenery, and one under whose shadow the patriarch would have been likely to have pitched his tent. The tent under the terebinth tree became a scene of great interest. It was be- neath its canopy that the patriarch, not being “ forgetful to entertain strangers,” entertained the Lord himself, and two attendant angels. It was an example of that hospitality which was afterwards referred to, and enjoined by the holy apostles. Not Abraham alone has found a blessing in its observance — “ Many, amid this world of cares, Have sate with angels unawares and the cup of cold water, or the refreshment or shelter given to the servants of the Lord, in later ages, in the name of Christ, has found its immediate reward in the answered supplications which holy men have uttered from beneath the 28 PLANTS AND TEEES OF SCRIPTURE. roof where, as wayfaring men, they “ tarried for a night.” An old tradition, related by Josephus, says that this interesting tree was still living in his time ; and a venerable terebinth, which was said to be as old as the world itself, and which grew near Mamre, was shown as the scene of the meeting of Abram with his heavenly messen- gers. Later traditions were connected with this tree, which became the scene of pilgrimages, and subsequently of most unholy revelry. It was accidentally destroyed by fire in a.d. 1640. There is no doubt that the valley of Elah, where David went down when Saul and his army were encamped there, and where, with the smooth stones from the brook, he slew the great Goliath, (1 Sam. xvii. 19,) received its name from the terebinth trees growing on the spot. Dr. Robinson considers this valley to lie on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza, and remarks that the largest terebinth tree which he ever saw in the Holy Land stands near it. The terebinth is remarkable for its great longevhy. Its leaves are small, and shaped much like those of the olive, but varied in colour with red and purple. The fruits are smaller than cherries, of a deep reddish purple, while large excrescences, the size of a chesnut, and of a purple, or green, or white tint, are found among the leaves. The trunk of the tree yields the celebrated Cyprus turpentine, which is very pure and transparent, and has an odour like citron. It is procured by making incisions THE TURPENTINE TREE, ELM, AND TEIL TREE. 29 in the bark during the month of July. Stones are placed beneath these incisions, on which the balsam or turpentine drops, and having become hardijied during the night, it is removed at sunrise. To render it pure, it is again dis- solved in the sun, and strained. This substance is very expensive, on account of the small quantity yielded by the trees. Loudon re- marks, that four large trees, sixty years old, only gave two pounds, nine ounces, and six drachms. In some parts of the Greek isles, however, a somewhat larger quantity is pro- cured from the trees. It does not appear that the natives of Palestine obtain this product from the turpentine tree, but it is much valued for its shadow and picturesque beauty. It is common, also, in Asia Minor, in the south of Europe, and the north of Africa. It is gene- rally about twenty feet high, and often higher. Another species of terebinth produces the gum mastic of commerce. In Hosea iv. 13, the word given as “elm” in our version should be rendered 11 terebinth tree.” So also the “ teil tree” of Isaiah, (chap, vi. 13,) is properly the turpentine tree, though our translation, by the “ teil,” intended the lime or linden tree. so PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER VI. LENT1LES. “ And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage ; for I am faint Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles,” Gen. xxv. 30, 34. And thus, u for a morsel of meat,” Esau “sold his birthright !” The “ profaneness” of his conduct, which is alluded to by St. Paul, seems to con- sist in this : the priestly function, as well as the secular property, formed the privilege of birth- right ; and had Esau appreciated this as he ought, he would not, for a momentary gratifi- cation, have parted with a privilege to which, as the eldest son, he was entitled. But Esau was the child of impulse, and he bore its punishment in his subsequent loss. The lentile, ( Ervum lens,) from which the pottage was made that formed the temptation to the wearied huntsman, is the smallest legu- minous plant which is cultivated. It is rarely more than a foot and a half in height, of a trailing, prostrate habit, and kept upright only by clinging by its tendrils to its neighbour plants. It has small, purple, pea-shaped llowers, and is somewhat similar to the tare, but yields a smaller quantity of grain. It is still cultivated in Palestine, and to a great extent, not only in the east in general, but also in some countries on the continent of Europe. Several kinds are sown in the fields of France and Germany LENTILES. 31 where the seeds sell for about twice the price of peas. They are chiefly used in these coun- tries for haricots and soups. In the markets of Syria, as well as in Egypt, lentiles are com- monly sold ready for use. Burckhardt says of them, that a mixture of equal portions of rice and lentiles, over which butter is poured, forms a favourite preparation of the middle classes of Arabia, and is often their only dish at supper. u I found,” says this writer, u in every part of the Hedjaz, that the Bedouins, when travelling, carried no other provision than rice, lentiles, butter, and dates.” Kosenmuller says, that the pottage made from the lentile was called red, because the easterns call red that which is, strictly speaking, a yellow brown ; as we speak of red leaves or red kine. Lentile pulse has, in all times, been called red, for Pliny speaks of an Egyptian variety, which grew on the red sands near the pyramids, and remarking that the lentile prefers a red soil, asks if the pulse may not have derived its red- dish colour from the soil on which it grows. Travellers in the east, who have eaten of this frequent dish, describe it as of a reddish choco- late colour, when boiled for use. On the spot near the cave of Hebron, where Mohammedan tradition relates that Abraham and his family lie buried, and which is said to have been the place where Jacob purchased the here- ditary rights of his brother, D’ Arvieux found a large building erected. At the entrance of this building was a kitchen. Here a quantity of 32 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. soup was daily prepared from various kinds of pulse, but especially from lentiles, and a party of dervishes distributed from its gates these messes of pottage to the poor and the traveller. This practice was intended to keep in remem- brance the fact recorded in Scripture. The use of lentiles is not, in the east, con- fined to boiling as soup. Bread of a tolerably good kind is made of lentiles and barley, while, in some parts of Egypt, especially in the country towards the cataracts of the Nile, scarcely any other bread is in common use, as corn is little cul- tivated in the southern extremity of that land. CHAPTER VII. THE OAK. il Deborah Rebekah’s nurse died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el under an oak : and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth,” Gen. xxxv. 8. There is something very touching in this slight and simple record of the death of the aged nurse, when the pilgrim family were on their way to Canaan. The old servant of the household, the nurse of that mother whose par- tiality for her son, though unjust, would yet naturally endear her memory, was buried under an oak tree, which most likely received its name of “ oak of weeping” from this incident. But the oak of Palestine is not the same giant tree which spreads its gnarled boughs wide over the grassy plains of England's parks THE OAK. 83 and meadows, giving its stout timbers to frame the goodly ships, and serving as a natural link, between the times of old England in past days, and the time which is passing now ; and which having shadowed one generation after another, will live to shadow generations yet unborn. Several species of oak, however, adorn the hills of Syria, and the forests of evergreen oak of Canaan cover the hills, and reach to their very summits. But the climate of Syria is too warm for the oak to flourish much in its valleys, and it is chiefly found on hills and mountains ; and though in masses its dark green boughs are beautiful to look upon, yet the individual oak has not the stately appearance of our monarch of the woods. In many places of Palestine, the country lias all the rich appearance of park scenery, from the numerous forests of evergreen oaks with which it is varied. Low shrubs of the ever- green oak group over the hills of Hebron, but it is on the hills of Bashan, memorable in Scripture description as producing “ the oaks of Bashan,” that the oak is still most luxuriant and plentiful, and Burckhardt rejoiced in the wel- come shadow cast by the thick oaks of Bashan and Gilead. It may be that Isaiah had sat on the same spot, and had it pictured in the mental vision, when he declared the inspired prophecy: u For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up ; and he shall be brought low : and upon all the cedars of h 34 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE, Lebanon, that are high* and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,” chap. ii. 12, 13. Zecha- riah, too, in the powerful imagery by which he describes the destruction of Jerusalem, alluded to the superiority of these trees, when he calls upon the fir tree, the cedar, and the oaks of Bashan, to lament, “ for the forest of the vintage ' had come down,” chap. xi. 2. Two Hebrew words have by our translators been rendered oak, but one has been plainly proved to refer to the terebinth tree. The word allon , how T ever, is doubtless the oak. Dr. Royle mentions five species of oak as common in Palestine, though, as he remarks, the frequent mention of the oak in our version of the Scrip- tures, would lead to the inference that this tree ■was far more abundant in the scenery of Pales- tine than it really is. The evergreen oak ( Quercus ilex') is found in western Asia, and is also a well-known tree of southern Europe. It is commonly called the holly, or holme oak. The French term it Chene verd , and the -wood of this handsome and slow-growing tree is said to be equal to that of our sturdy British oak, the Quercus robur of botanists. The sweet nut of this tree, and some other kinds of ever- green oaks, is flavoured like an almond, and was perhaps one of the fruits of the oak which * the classic writers describe as forming the food of the primitive inhabitants of Greece, and ren- dering them stout and strong. The holly- leaved Montpelier oak ( Quervus gramuntia) is, by some botanists, considered as merely a rm oak. 8.5 variety of the holme oak ; but there is consi- derable difference in its appearance, owing to its wider spreading boughs. The hairy-cupped oak ( Quercus crinata) is less common in Palestine than either of the last named species. The great prickly-cupped oak ( Quercus JEgilops) often meets the eye of the traveller who gazes on the hills of Judah. It is literally called the goat’s-beard oak, because the long shaggy lichens, so common on its trunk, give it a shaggy appearance ; and it is also termed the Yalonia oak by many travellers. The Ivermes oak ( Quercus cocci] era) alone remains to be noticed of the ascertained oaks of Palestine, but probably other species will be marked by future botanists. This is remark- able as furnishing food to the Kermes, ( Coccus iliciSy) a small insect which is found in quanti- ties on its boughs, and which was the only substance used in dying scarlet, from the period of the disuse of the celebrated scarlet of Scrip- ture, obtained from the shell-fish of Tyre, and which furnished the Tyrian purple of the Homans, until the introduction of the insect dye of the cochineal from America. The Kermes oak is a bushy low evergreen, and the insects, though now in little use for dying in England, are still employed by the natives of the Levant, the people of Barbary, and of other countries. On the Sierra Morena, wide tracts of this shrub cover the heights ; and many of the people of Murcia procure their whole livelihood by gathering the Kermes for dyers. 86 PLANTS AND TREES OB’ SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER VIII. ALMONDS, PISTACHIO, AND HAZEL. Israel said unto his sons, u Take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices, and myrrh, nuts, and almonds,” Gen. xliii. 11. Almonds were not common in Egypt as they were in Syria, and it is doubtful whether they were ever cultivated there at all. In Palestine, as well as in other parts of Syria, the almond tree ( Amygdalus com- munis) was, and still is, very abundant. It grows wild, and is cultivated too in the gardens. Its beauty in the neighbourhood of Sidon has attracted the attention of travellers. Carne says of the gardens there, which extend to some distance about the town, that they produce great quantities of fruit, of which exports are made, and enumerates the almonds among the mulberry, pomegranate, and lemon trees, which are very abundant. In the town of Nablous, the ancient Sychem, its beautiful blossoms grow among the graceful palm trees and the wide- spreading figs ; on Mount Carmel it smiles in beauty, and many a spot rendered interesting by its association with scenes of Scriptural narrative, is gay, in early spring, with its rose-clad boughs, and fragrant with its gentle odour. ALMONDS, PISTACHIO, AND HAZEL. 37 Three hundred years before the birth of our Saviour, Theophrastus had written of the early flowering of the almond, and said that it was the only tree of Greecv which blossomed before the leaves appear ; and very early in the history of the world its bloom had suggested its Hebrew name of shaJced , which might be rendered to make haste, to awake early ; thus giving to the eastern tree a name alike poetic and expressive, and rendering it a very fit emblem for the pro- phet Jeremiah, when he called the attention of the people of Israel to the tree, and thence inferred the speedy fulfilment of God’s word, Jer. i. 11. Nor was its early bloom, its flower- ing, even while winter seemed present, and while all around was naked and barren, for- gotten, probably, by Solomon, when he com- pared it to the hoary hairs of age. In Palestine, the road-sides are made beautiful by its flowers during the month of February. The fruit of the almond tree was much valued in the east, and it furnished also a very pleasant oil, valuable in lands where the use of oil was so general. It was probably simply on account of its form that it was chosen as a model for the carved work of the tabernacle, the bowls for whose service were commanded to be made like unto almonds, with a “ knop and a flower in one branch,” Exod. xxv. 33. When Israel yielded, on one occasion, to the murmurings to which that rebellious people seem to have been so prone, God silenced them by the miraculous budding of Aaron’s rod, 33 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. which also brought forth almonds, and long did the flowery fertile staff lie by the ark of the testimony, a witness at once of Israel’s faithlessness and Jehovah’s power. The nuts, which, in the passage at the open- ing of this chapter, are named with the almonds, have, by various commentators, been translated pine-nuts, dates, or walnuts ; but Dr. Koyle, and other writers, considered that the pistachio- nuts, so much in request as a fruit in the east, are here intended. The pistachio tree, ( Pistacia vera ,) though pretty general throughout Syria, and found wild in Palestine, is rare in Egypt. The nuts, which are in modern times imported to India from Afghanistan, are eaten with sweetmeats, or are fried with pepper and salt, and make a grateful dish at the eastern dessert. They are also exported from various parts of Syria into Europe. The nut has a light - coloured woody shell, and the kernel, which is green even when ripe, is of a sweet and delicate flavour, much relished in all the places where the pistachio-nut. tree is found. This tree is sometimes thirty feet high, in a dry soil. The word rendered hazel, in Gen. xxx. 37 ? should be translated almond. BITTER HERBS. 89 CHAPTER IX. BITTER HERBS. u They shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with Are, and unleavened bread ; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it,” Exod. xii. 8. In this manner God commanded the congrega- tion of Israel, while yet in Egypt, to eat the lamb of the passover, that solemn type of the Lamb of God, afterwards slain for the sins of the world : and at the re -institution of the passover in the wilderness of Sinai, we find these directions repeated, Num. ix. 11. It is not possible now to determine exactly what plants were meant by the bitter herbs. Five sorts of plants are stated in the Mishna, either or all of which might be eaten by the ancient Jews on this occasion. Wild lettuce, endive, a plant which is by some thought to be horehound, or the young tops of horse-radish, or a species of thistle ; another, which is by some called a nettle, and a fifth, which is thought to be the bitter coriander. Both the endive and lettuce are, when unblanched, of an intense bitter. The learned rabbi, Aben Ezra, states that some bitter herbs were always eaten by the Jews with their food, and that they eat some of them with every mouthful of bread or meat, just as the bitter gourds are now con- stantly eaten with food in India. The idea that the endive was especially 40 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. meant as the bitter herbs, is the most ancient and the most general. This plant, called by the Arabs chikouryeh, is much eaten in Egypt. Pliny remarked on its importance to the Egypt- ians, and it is well known that in modern days chicory, or plants of a similar nature, form half the food of the common people of that land. As Rosenmuller observes, the endive has certainly the oldest authorities in its favour, as the most ancient Greek Alexandrian trans- lations put endives. Dr. Geddes, who regards the endive as the bitter herbs of Scripture, remarks that the Jews of Alexandria, who translated the Pentateuch, could not be igno- rant of what herbs were eaten with the paschal lamb in their days. In addition to the plants named, the centaury, a red flower common in Great Britain, is thought by some writers to be intended, as the young stems of this plant are eaten in the east, during the months of February and March, and are truly “ bitter herbs ” in their nature. CHAPTER X. CINNAMON AND CASSIA. “ The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and CINNAMON AND CASSIA. 41 fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred, and fifty shekels,” Exod. xxx. 22, 23. The cinna- mon tree is nc^ a native of Palestine, but there is no doubt that the substance here referred to is the spice called by this name in modern times. By what means the Hebrews procured this spice from a far country is unknown. Some writers think that the cinnamon tree grows also in some part of Arabia or Africa ; others believe that trade with India is of a more ancient date than it is generally considered to have been. The cinnamon laurel ( Laurus kinnamomuvn) is largely cultivated in Ceylon. It is a low- growing tree, with a smooth ash-coloured bark, and wide-spreading boughs, and is rendered very picturesque, both by its form and the variety of tint given to its bright green leaves by their white under-surface. The young shoots, too, have a scarlet crimson hue, and their bark is often speckled with deep green and orange-coloured spots. The leaves are sometimes eight or nine inches in length, and two in width. The flowers have no beauty, and it is rather remarkable that a tree possess- ing so odorous a bark, as well to entitle it to the name of “ sweet cinnamon,” should, when in bloom, emit a foetid and disgusting odour, said to resemble that of newly-sawn bones. The fruit, which is about the size of an olive, is very insipid. Besides the plantations of cin- namon in Ceylon, the tree grows also wild in that island, and in other parts of the world. It b 2 42 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. is also indigenous in Sumatra, Borneo, and the Malabar coast ; and is cultivated in the West Indies and other tropical countries. The cin- namon of commerce is the inner bark of the tree, and is peeled off the trees in the valley when they are about four or five years old ; but trees on hilly regions require to grow some years longer before they can be thus stripped. The finest cinnamon is procured from the young branches ; and incisions are made, lengthwise, in the bark, on both sides of the shoot, by inserting the peeling-knife just under the surface. The cinnamon is then removed in the form of a hollow cylinder, and the sticks are tied together in bundles, weighing about a pound each, and thus exported. There are several kinds of cinnamon, varying much in the sweetness of their flavour, some kinds having a coarse and strong taste. The oil of cinnamon is chiefly made in Ceylon, by placing the smaller broken pieces of the bark in sea-water for some hours, when the oil is procured by distillation. The flavour of the cinnamon is the test of its excellence, and, in former days, medical men were employed by the British government to taste the Ceylon spice ; but this custom is now discontinued, for the frequent chewing of the cinnamon so excoriated the mouths of the tasters, that the practice could not be continued by one person for more than two days succes- sively. The cinnamon bark is astringent and tonic, but its chief medical use is in disguising RYE. 43 the flavour of nauseous drugs. Of its domestic uses nothing need here be said. The ancient Hebrews appear to have regarded it as a deli- ciously fragrant substance, and it was undoubt- edly very costly and precious. The cassia is said to be the bark of a tree of Ceylon, the Malabar coast, and other parts of India and the adjacent isles. It is the cassia tree, ( Kinnamomum cassia ,) and its bark is far inferior in flavour to the cinnamon, but so re- sembles it as to be often purchased for the true species. This substance is, however, by some writers, considered to be only the coarse bark of the cinnamon laurel. The principal city of Kwang-se, a province of China, has a name, which literally imports cassia forest, owing to the large groves of the cassia tree which grow around it. The ripe berries of the cinnamon tree yield a soft oily substance, which, in Ceylon, is used as an application to bruises. CIIAPTEK XI. RYE. “ The wheat and rye were not smitten : for they were not grown up,” Exod. ix. 32. The word rendered “ rye,” in this part of Scripture, is elsewhere rendered “ fitches and com- mentators have found much difficulty in 44 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. ascertaining exactly the plant intended, though it doubtless refers to one of the cultivated grains of Egypt and Syria. From this passage we learn that it was planted with wheat and barley in Egypt ; and, in Isaiah, we find that it was also cultivated in Palestine, Isa. xxviii. 25. The prophet Ezekiel was directed to take it, with beans and barley, lentiles and millet, and make bread ; but, in this passage, our translators have rendered the original word by “ fitches.” Eye is a plant fitted for cultivation in cold countries only, and un- known, or almost so, in Egypt. It is therefore generally believed, that the spelt is intended, especially as this plant is known to have fur- nished food to the ancient Egyptians, and some people of Syria ; but some further investigation of the modern agriculture of these countries will probably throw more light on the matter. The spelt ( Triticum spelta) is a species of wheat distinct from the common wheat, having a stouter stem and strong spikes of grain. The bread made of its flour is very inferior to that made of common wheat, but spelt is very gene- rally grown in the south of France, and many parts of Switzerland and Germany. In the southern districts of the latter country it is preferred to any other kind of grain. Its chief recommendation is, that it will thrive well on almost any soil, and yield a crop on lands unfit for other wheat. In Spain, where barley is scarce, it is given to horses, but the ancients greatly preferred it to barley in making bread. THE POMEGRANATE, 45 CHAPTER XII. THE POMEGRANATE. u Beneath, upon the hem of it, (the robe,) thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof ; and bells of gold between them round about,” Exod. xxviii. 33. We find throughout Scripture those numerous references to the pomegranate, ( Punica granatum ,) which the frequency of this plant in the Holy Land might lead us to expect. Nor are modern tra- vellers in Palestine less pleased with its shade than Saul might have been, when he sat beneath the pomegranate tree when he tarried in Migron of Gibeah, 1 Sam. xiv. 2. Lord Lindsay often mentions the pomegranate trees of Palestine as objects of beauty; and speaks of their delicious groves near Cana of Galilee, where our Lord performed his first miracle. He quotes an Arabian writer, who, speaking of these and other plants near Szalt, supposed to be the scene of the murder of St. John the Baptist, says, “ There are many gardens, and great over the whole earth is the fame of its pomegranates.” Dr. Olin was delighted with the trees in the gardens near Shechem ; and Bonar and M‘Cheyne describe the village of Karieh, near Sharon, as literally embosomed amongst fig trees, olives, and pomegranates, with a solitary palm tree rising above the 46 PLANTS AND TREES OE SCRIPTURE. clustered groups. “ The pomegranates,” say these writers, “were in full bloom, and the scarlet flowers shone brilliantly from among its dark green leaves.” Indeed, throughout Pales- tine, as well as other parts of Asia, the bright blossoms or the crimson, apple-like fruits, are very beautiful, and render the tree, which is in form something like a hawthorn, a very attrac- tive object. When growing wild, the pomegra- nate tree is thorny, but culture deprives it of the thorns. It is not easy to determine why the fruit of the pomegranate was selected by God as the fitting ornament of the priestly robe. Grow- ing wild in their own land, and cultivated largely in the orchards and gardens, the ancient Hebrew's were very familiar with its appearance, so much so that Moses described Canaan as a land of pomegranates. Its figura- tive design as a symbol of sacred things is less obvious than that of the olive or the myrtle, yet it is probable that its appropriation to the garment of the priest was symbolical. In very early ages, the pomegranate came to be regarded in the east as a sacred plant. Many com- mentators are of opinion, that the idolatrous temple called the house of Rimmon, in Assyria, was devoted to the worship of the pomegranate, Rimmon being the Iiebrew r word for that plant. Others think with Rosenmuller, that the w r ord thus used in that place signified rather “ the exalted,” and probably referred to the temple of the sun. There is, however, no doubt that THE POMEGRANATE. 47 the pomegranate was, in very early periods of the world, symbolical of fertility, its large number of seeds rendering it particularly suit- able for this, and, by a further extension of the figure, it seemed significant of a great multi- tude. In Egypt, the people held the pomegra- nate sacred ; in Persia, it adorned the head of the sceptre. In Rhodes, the blossom of this plant mingled with the arms of the Rhodians : and an ancient image of Jupiter, as described by Achilles Tertius, bore a pomegranate in its hand. In the temple of Solomon, it surrounded the chapiters of the pillars, and garnished the hem of the vestment of the priest. Scott re- gards it and the bells which were placed with the pomegranates, as typifying “ the glad tidings which Christ is anointed to preach, and the fragrant fruits of his priesthood which he con- fers upon his church.” The beauty of the delicate crimson fruit when it first opens, led to several comparisons in the Song of Solomon. “ As a piece of pome- granate are thy cheeks,” said the poetic writer, when praising the beauty of the bride. “Just,” says Dr. Taylor, “ as we, in our land, compare a beautiful cheek to a peach.” The flowers too are represented as forming the bridal ^wreath-at the marriage feast, and “ the pleasant fruits ” of the garden of pomegranates are, in this part of Scripture, spoken of with praise. The fruit of the pomegranate attains, in its native climates, a luxurious sweetness, and is much valued in hot climates ; the pulpy 48 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. grains of the fruit also are eaten, sprinkled with sugar ; and, when well dried, the grains are used in confectionary. Dr. Kitto observes, that the pomegranate is, in eastern countries, used for most of the purposes for which we select the lemon. “ The spiced wine of pome- granates ” is still made by expressing the fruit ; and the sherbets valued by the Moslems, who do not drink wine, are often indebted for their flavour to its juices. Though the pomegranate was not originally a wild plant of Egypt, yet that it was early cultivated there we learn from the complaints of the Israelites, who, on comparing the wide wilderness of Sinai with the land they had quitted, said, “ it is no place of figs, or of vines, or pomegranates.” Burckhardt describes it now in that land as of middling quality. The pomegranate grows wild in southern Europe. It was cultivated by the Eomans, who called it the graine apple, ( Pomum granatum ,) which is the origin of our English name. It is mentioned by the earliest poets as the Carthaginian apple ; and the phy- sicians of ancient Greece and Rome esteemed it for its medicinal virtues. CORIANDER. 49 CHAPTER XIII. CORIANDER. lt The manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium,” Num. xi. 7. It is yet undetermined whether the bdellium of Scripture was a stone or a plant, but the rendering of coriander, in our version, has been very generally received as correct. The coriander ( Coriandrum sativum ) was used by the ancients both as a condiment and medicine, and is frequently mentioned by the Talmudical writers. It is an umbelliferous plant, which, though probably originally a native of the east, has, by long culture, become naturalized in our land, and is reckoned among our wild plants, being often found in our fields. It is also grown in British gardens ; and on some lands of Essex it is sown for purposes of commerce. The leaves are very aromatic, and are used for soups. They are also prepared a3 comfits by the confectioners, and much used by apothecaries to disguise the flavour of medi- cines. 'Black puddings and currie pow r der are flavoured with them, and the distillers use them in large quantities. In former times, a favourite liquor was made by steeping them in wine ; and the seeds, afterwards dried, and thus rendered milder, were eaten w r ith various dishes. Coriander is used as a spice by the Arabs, and is much relished in Egypt and India. 50 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER XIV. CUCUMBERS, MELONS, LEEKS, ONIONS, AND GARLIC. “ The children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely ; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic,” Num. xi. 4, 5. Alas ! for repining Israel. God had, with a strong hand, brought them out of the house of bondage. He had dried the Red Sea for their footsteps, and guided their way by the fire and the cloud. He had sent water from the rock, and had sweetened, too, the bitter waters for their refreshment. He had given them manna from heaven, so that “ man did eat angels’ food,” yet now they forgot all past mercies, and unthankfully ex- claimed, There is nothing but ‘this manna before our eyes. They remembered only the pleasant fruits of Egypt, and thought not of its bitter bondage. And who is there that is sin- less in this respect? How many of us, whom God has guided thus far, are still distrustful of His providence, and ready to murmur at present dispensations ! To how many might the words of Solomon be applied — u Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this 1 ” The various plants which in this verse are CUCUMBERS, MELONS, LEEKS, ONIONS, GARLIC. 51 gathered together, formed the common diet of Egypt, so that the Israelites, though fed and treated as slaves, could yet procure them like the Egyptians ; and they had become attached to this food in preference to any other. Dr. Kitto mentions, that in the year 1218, when Damietta was besieged, many of the more delicate of the Egyptians pined away and died, for want of the garlic, onions, fish, birds, fruits, and herbs, to which they had been accustomed, though they were well supplied with corn. The cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) was culti- vated very extensively in. ancient Egypt, and is still very general there, its succulent nature enabling it to resist the drought of sandy plains, while it flourishes well in the richer soils watered by the Nile. The Hebrews, when settled in their own goodly land, culti- vated there the food which they had prized in Egypt. Thus we find the prophet Isaiah, when mourning over the desolation of Jerusalem, saying, “ The daughter of Zion is left as a cottage 4n a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers and still the cucumber plantation, uninclosed by hedges, attracts the travellers’ eye as he wanders over the plains of Palestine ; and still the cottage is raised there, that they who pass by the road may be prevented from gathering the ripening vegetable. The cucumber of Egypt is said to differ from ours in size, colour, and firmness, being smaller, and often whiter. It grows best in Kahira after the inundation of the Nile. Its 52 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. superiority in flavour, as well as tlie pleasure derived in hot lands from a juicy vegetable, may account for the preference which the inhabitants of the east have for this production — a pre- ference, however, which is partaken by the Bussians and Tahtars, who esteem the cucum- ber, when salted, above all dishes. The melon, [ Cucumis melo ,) as well as the water-melon, ( Cucurbita citrullus ,) are probably included in the fruits mentioned in our version. The large yellow fruit of the former is frequent at the English table, and is cultivated in Ame- rica as a culinary vegetable. It is a native plant of Egypt, the Levant, and South America. It will flourish both on dry and moist soils, and several varieties appear to have been cultivated in Egypt from remotest times, and to have formed a common article of diet. It grows to a large size in hot countries, and if eaten in moderate quantities is wholesome, but its cold- ness renders it unsafe to eat a large portion at a time. Hasselquist says of it, “ It chilled my stomach like a bit of ice.” One species of melon ( Cucumis cliate) is prized in Egypt above all others. It is sometimes cultivated in Britain, and is regarded as the most wholesome species, and the one from which delicate per- sons have least to fear. A pleasant drink is prepared from its juices, and the Europeans resident in Egypt, as well as the Egyptians themselves, esteem it the best. Hasselquist calls it the “ Queen of Cucumbers.” The water-melon, called by the Germans, CUCUMBERS, MELONS, LEEKS, ONIONS, GARLIC. 53 Wassermelone , and by the French, Pastcqve , is distinguished from the other edible species of melon by its cut leaves, but in other respects it is very similar. The fruit in the warm countries of Asia, Europe, and Africa, is often two feet in length, globular and smooth, its interior being a white icy-looking substance, streaked with dark red tints, and containing black seeds. In some parts of South America it is of an immense size, and Humboldt men- tions that in the peninsula of Araya, where the country is often for fifteen months destitute of rain, and where so juicy a fruit is very valu- able, that water-melons are often to be seen, weighing from fifty to seventy pounds each. It is eaten very largely in Egypt during its season. It serves the Egyptians for food, drink, and medicine, and is indeed the only remedy used by the poorer people in fevers. A softer and more common kind is preferred for this ^ise, and when this is so ripe as almost to be decaying, the juice is expressed, and being mingled with sugar is drunk copiously. This fruit is naturally very tempting to Europeans in the hot climate where it grows, and many suffer from eating too freely of it during the heat of the day. Hasselquist observing on its use in Egypt, says, 11 It is eaten in abundance by the richer sort of people and adds, “ that the common sort of people scarcely eat anything but these fruits, and account this season the best time of the year, as they are obliged to put up with a less pleasant diet during the other seasons.” 54 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. The water-melon is cultivated in Palestine, and some of the best are said to be grown on the plains near Mount Carmel. “ We are acquainted with no author,” says Dr. Kitto, u who men- tions a very common use to which the seeds of the water-melon are applied. They are salted and roasted dry, in which shape they are sold in the bazaars, and form a strong but not very delicate relish, of which some people are very fond.” This writer adds, that in Palestine melons are cultivated in the low plains of the coast, and of the Ghor ; nor are they neglected even in the high plains of the Haouran. But we must leave the cucumber tribe, and proceed to consider the other plants named in the verse. The common leek, (Allium porrum^) so well known for its uses in our kitchen, and for the favour it finds with the Welshman, was highly valued by the Romans. The plant is much cultivated in Scotland, and the favourite dish of our monarch James I., of cock-a-leekie, has not lost its repute in the northern part of our island. The leek still forms a favourite diet with the orientals, as in the days of the Israelites, and is as common an article of Egyptian diet as it is known to have been two thousand years before the time of our Saviour. Both the onion and the leek grow wild on the deserts of Cairo. The Turks say they are a delicacy fit for paradise. The leek is cut up into small pieces, and eaten as a seasoning to meat in modern Egypt. The onion ( Allium cepa ) is no less prized than CUCUMBERS, MELONS, LEEKS, ONIONS, GARLIC. 55 the leek. The opinion cf Hasselquist on this root is often quoted, and is confirmed by all tra- vellers in Egypt. “ Whoever,” says that writer, “ has tasted onions in Egypt, must allow that none can be had better in any part of the uni- verse. Here, they are sweet ; in other countries, they are nauseous and strong. Here, they are soft ; whereas, in the northern and other parts, they are hard, and their coats are so compact that they are difficult of digestion. Hence they cannot in any place be eaten with less prejudice and more satisfaction than in Egypt.” This traveller considered that the onion soup of that land was one of the best dishes he ever tasted. The onions are cut into four pieces, baked and eaten, and some of the poorest people live almost entirely on them, while the richer classes eat them thus cooked with roasted meat. They are sold in the markets at very low prices both baked anffi raw. That great reverence was paid to the onion by the ancient Egyptians there seems little doubt. They are said by Pliny to have sworn by these plants, and they were accused of worshipping some species as gods. The fondness for the onion tribe, as an article of food, seems universal in the east. At Bernou very large plantations of onions are cultivated, and they are general too in Pales- tine. About Samaria, the onions are so numerous and so sweet, that they rival those of Egypt. The common shallot of our kitchen-garden, ( Allium ascalonicum ,) which received its specific 56 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. name from having been brought from Ascalon, is considered to be the garlic of Egypt, and a variety of the plant commonly cultivated in that land is familiarly known as u Egyptian garlic.” The use of garlic was so great in ancient times in that country, that Pliny men- tions it as one of the articles on which a large sum of money was spent, to furnish food for the builders of the pyramids. The Talmud says, that the Jews season many kinds of meat with garlic, and it is still a favourite seasoning with that people, whose habits in ail countries still retain some traces of their oriental origin. The dish of garlic is a highly valued food of modern Egypt, and travellers in that land, when invited to share in the hospitality of an Egyptian host, mention that it is one most fre- quently offered. Garlic appears to be a very wholesome plant, and in Kamtschatka it is prized not only as food, but as a medicine, and steeped in water is mixed with cabbage and other vegetables, and eaten cold. The Kamt- schatdales consider it a sure remedy against those eruptive complaints to which their poor food renders them liable ; and fear these disorders no longer, when spring disperses the snow from their plains, and the green shoots of the garlic rise above the earth. WHEAT. 57 CHAPTER XV. WHEAT. u The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil olive, and honey,” Deut. viii. 7, 8. It was a beautiful description of their ancient land, which Moses here gave to the Israelites. We find the wheat and the barley named distinctly, and these grains, as well as peas, beans, lentiles, cummin, and several other plants, are often included under the general word corn, so frequently named in Scripture. The wheat, however, always stood the foremost, as it does with us. In the Holy Land it was both luxuriant and general, and it was in Egypt and Syria the most common kind of grain. Not only was wheaten and barley bread the general food of the people of Palestine, but ears of corn, gathered while green, and dried, then slightly parched or boiled, were, and still are, a common dish throughout the east. In his route between Sardis and Acre, Hasselquist observed a herdsman at his dinner, and saw that his meal consisted of half ripened ears of corn, which he roasted at the fire. Ears of corn, thus prepared, were ordered by God to be presented as a tribute of praise. 58 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. “ Thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears,” said the law of Israel, Lev. ii. 14. Parched corn, when fully ripe, - as well as parched pulse, was eaten then as now in the east, and corn, first boiled and then bruised in a mill, and separated from the husk, is afterwards dried in the sun by the people of Western Asia, and is in constant use. The meal of this corn, mixed with honey, butter, and spice, is said by Dr. Kitto to be in much request, while he describes a mixture of the flour with water as forming a cool drink, most refreshing in those hot climates. Egypt was also, from the earliest ages, cele- brated for her corn, and we find Joseph’s brethren going thither to fetch it, when corn was scarce in Canaan. Its abundance in the former land originated the old English proverb expressive of plenty, and we still say, “ There is corn in Egypt,” when we have enough and to spare of any article. For no plant was Egypt more celebrated than for wheat. Rome and Constantinople once regarded that country as an inexhaustible granary. In the present day, Arabia brings her corn out of Egypt, and the caravans which leave Upper Egypt for Cosseir, a port on the Red Sea, are freighted with wheat, which is thence transported to Jidda. It needs but little culture, for the Egyptian has scarcely more to do than to scatter its seed upon the soil. The two species called summer and winter FLAX. 59 wheat were cultivated in Palestine, and the Egyptian wheat is known even to the present day as being the most prolific of wheats. When the Egyptians, ignorant of the resurrec- tion of the body, sought to make that body eternal by embalming it, grains of wheat were often placed with the corpse of the departed, and some of these seeds taken out of the mummy case have been placed in the soil. The long ages which have passed by have not injured the vitality of the wheat ; and corn gathered in by hands which ministered probably to the wants of the Pharaohs, has sprung up in the English garden, and is now bearing its seven-fold fruits. CPIAPTER XVI. FLAX. u She (Rahab) had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof,” Josh. ii. 6. This practice of preparing the flax, either by alternate steeping and drying, or by the natural process of dewy morn and shining noon, is still common in the east. Rae Wilson, in describing the roofs of Damascus, says that they are flat like a terrace, spread over with a kind of plaster, made firm with a roller. He adds, that several domestic offices 60 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. are performed upon them, such as the drying linen and flax. The words in the text literally signify “ flax of the wood,” that is, undressed flax, with its woody fibres. Still earlier than the period just referred to, we find linen garments named as worn by the Hebrews. The first mention of them is in Levi- ticus, where the woollen or linen garment of the leper is ordered to be burned in the fire, Lev. xiii. 47-52. From frequent intimation of holy writ, we learn too that flax was among the earliest cultivated plants of Egypt and Palestine. The Talmud and the Rabbinical tracts abound with comments concerning the sowing and gathering of this plant, as well as on the method of dress- ing and afterwards manufacturing it. It is in Egypt, however, that flax under cultivation first meets our attention, when we read of the plant as smitten by the terrific plague of hail. It is said in the passages relating to it, “ that the ilax and the barley were smitten : for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was boiled,” or in blossom, Exod. ix. 31. Many ancient writers also speak of its early cultivation in the land of the Nile, while old Egyptian paintings represent, in uncouth forms, the processes of dressing and preparing it for use. From that day to this, the spring has seen the Egyptian field blue with its flowers, and it is still among the chief products of the Delta. Not only is a sufficient quantity grown to supply linen gar- ments to all the people of the land, but immense quantities are exported. THE BRAMBLE. 6i It is very evident that the Israelites, as well as the people of other ancient nations, valued very highly the fine linen of Egypt, above that which was manufactured in Syria. From the praises bestowed upon it by ancient writers, it was long supposed to be of remarkably delicate texture, but the wrappings of the mummies show that this was not the case, for as their embalmed dead were most probably persons of distinction, we may reasonably infer that the finest linen cloth would be used in enfolding them ; yet these cloths are coarse, and it is probable that the “ fine linen of Egypt ” was far inferior to that which in modern days issues from the looms of Europe. The flax is cultivated now very generally in the civilized parts of the world. In our own land it is also a wild flower. It has a pale blue blossom, seated on a slender stem, about a foot high, with small lanceolate leaves of a pale green colour. Several species are cultivated. The two most generally sown are the perennial flax, ( Linum perenne ,) and the common flax, ( Linum usitatissmum.) CHAPTER XVII. THE BRAMBLE. “ Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye 62 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow : and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon,” Judges ix. 14, 15. It does not appear that the common plant of our wayside, the bramble, ( Rubus fruticosus ,) which winds its long sprays about the English hedges, is the plant here intended by the original word, in this first parable of the Bible. The bramble, though found in several places in Palestine, is by no means general there. One other species of the true bramble, and which is one of the few plants described as belonging peculiarly to Palestine, is called “ the holy bramble,” because it is the product of the Holy Land alone. Nor is the raspberry, or any plant of the bramble or rubus tribe, known to grow wild on Judah’s hills or plains, save one other, which is by some writers considered as merely a variety of the holy bramble. But many mountains and forests of Palestine have yet been unexplored by botanists, and species, hitherto undiscovered there, may yet be found in the floras of those regions. The fact of the infrequency of the bramble would suggest that Jotham, in his spirited and popular appeal, alluded to another plant. And when he bade the men of Shechem hearken unto him, that God might hearken unto them, it is not unlikely that he pointed to the common zizyphus, ( Zizyphus vulgaris ,) which grows wild throughout Palestine and Syria in great abundance. This plant is a middling- sized THE TAMARISK. 63 tree, allied to the buckthorn tribe, and is a thorny plant. It is as common in China and Japan as in Palestine, and appears to have been brought into Europe in the reign of Augustus Caesar, and is cultivated in Spain and Italy, where its fruit is eaten fresh, or dried as a sweetmeat. This fruit is a kind of berry, containing in its centre a two-seeded nut; and its fleshy substance is, when ripe, of a saffron colour, and of the form and size of an olive. The tree bears a great abundance of these berries, which are much relished by the people of the lands where it flourishes ; and thus it seems to have some pretensions to be classed with the fig tree and the vine, as fitted to become the “ king of the trees.” The fact that the bramble is described as saying, “ Let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon,” renders the zizyphus very appropriate, as its wood is singularly com- bustible. CHAPTER XVIII. THE TAMARISK. il Now Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him,” 1 Sam. xxii. 6. Dr. Boothroyd render this passage in his version, “And Saul abode under a tama- 64 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. risk tree ” — a reading very generally approved by oriental scholars, as the Hebrew word here translated “ tree,” is the same as that which denotes a species of tamarisk, very common in Western Asia, and the similarity of its name in the eastern countries where it grows to the Hebrew eshel of Scripture is remarkable. This tree is thought, also, by commentators, to be that which the patriarch Abraham set, when it is said he planted a grove at Beersheba, and called thereon the name of the Lord. Its pleasant shadow fitted it well for the out-door court of Saul, or for the temple of the father of the faithful; and from beneath its boughs, perhaps, arose the devout thanksgivings, and the com- passionate intercessions offered by Abraham, while yet the morning sun had scarcely tinged its branches, or when the long shadows made by the receding orb were gradually mingling with the wide-spreading shadow of advancing night. Perchance, when Isaac strolled forth into the fields, to meditate at eventide, he lin- gered beneath the tamarisk planted by his father’s hand, and communed in secret with the God of his spirit — ■ “ The groves were God’s first temples. Ere man learned To hew the shaft, and lay the architrave. And spread the roof above them ; ere he framed The lofty vault, to gather and roll back The sound of anthems ; in the darkling wood. Amidst the cool and silence, he knelt down, And offered to the Mightiest, solemn thanks And supplication.” The eastern tamarisk ( Tamarix orientalis ), as well as the species of tamarisk generally, was TlIE TAMARISK. 65 known to the Arabs by the name of asul. In some parts of the east it is called ithel or atel , and the Egyptians term it athle. It often attains the height of twenty feet, and is one of the largest and most elegant species of the beautiful tamarisk tribe, all of which are graceful, either as trees or shrubs. The species which grows wild on our sea-shores is suffi- ciently like the eastern kind to give a good idea of it; and the cypress-like boughs of this plant, ( Tamar ix gallica ,) with their light green foliage, and young shoots tipped with red, ren- der it a great ornament in the usually barren lands about our coast. It is, as well as the eastern species, very common throughout Palestine. In travelling in that interesting country, the tamarisk bough offers frequently to the traveller a sight of verdure, and a pro- mise of shadow; and growing well on the driest deserts, is often more especially welcome. Beersheba, where Abraham planted it, is still a region much subject to droughts, which would render the culture of some trees impracticable. On the extreme part of the desert of Shur — the scene where Hagar wandered with her out- cast child — the stunted bushes of the tamarisk grow in abundance ; and some travellers have remarked, that it was probably under one of these bushes that the desponding mother cast the child of her blighted hope. Burckhardt observes of this plant, “ The tarfa, or tamarisk trees, delight particularly in sand, and in the driest season, when all vegetation around them C 66 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. is withered, never lose their verdure. It is one of the most common products of the Arabian desert, from the Euphrates to Mecca, and is also frequent in the Nubian desert.” Our own tamarisk is never found wild, but on sandy or rocky soils, though it will grow well in the inland garden. The tamarisk is valued in the east for many purposes besides its shadow. The Arabs about Medina plant it in gardens for the hard timber which it furnishes for buildings, and for the excellent charcoal yielded by the burnt wood. Its young leaves, too, are a favourite food of the camel. Sheep seem to relish this food ; for sir J. E. Smith, speaking of the profusion of the French tamarisk about the shores at Boulogne, observed that these animals so greatly pre- ferred it to any other herbage, that they never touched any vegetable while it remained. In Egypt, the eastern tamarisks are as large as oaks, and are so abundant that there is not a village of Lower Egypt but has its groves of these graceful trees. No tree large enough to furnish fire-wood, or timber for building, or mechanical purpose, can be at all termed com- mon in that land, except the tamarisk; hence the Egyptians have a proverb, that the world would go badly with them if athles were to fail ; nor is there any tree more frequent throughout Arabia. A solitary tamarisk tree now stands among the ruins of Babylon, on that spot where the “ beauty of the Chaldee’s excel- lency,” the “ lady of kingdoms,” once said in THE TAMARISK. 67 the pride of her heart, “ I am, and none beside me.” Rich saw it there, and described it as a species of lignum vitce , and supposing, as Heeren had done, that the lovely tree was of a kind not indigenous to the land, he thought it was a remnant of the beautiful gardens planted by Nebuchadnezzar for the delight of his Median queen. Other travellers, however, have seen that it is a tamarisk tree, a plant very common on the saline soil of the desert lands which lie around the ancient Babylonia. The Mohammedans have a tradition of this solitary tree, that Ali tied his horse to it at the battle of Hilleh, and they reverence it on this account. The tamarisk is one of the plants which has long been supposed by some travellers to pro- duce the manna. The true manna-bearing species ( Tamar ix mannifera) is said to grow only near Mount Sinai, near the scene on which the Israelites were miraculously fed. Other trees, yielding a sweet exhalation, have shared with the manna tamarisk in their claim, but from no intimation of Scripture could it be justly inferred, that the manna was procured from a plant, or that it was any other than the Scripture affirms it to be, “ bread from heaven.” We read that “ when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it 68 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE, was,” Exod. xvi. 14, 15. Many learned com- mentators think that the words rendered “ it is manna,” are, in fact, the asking of a question, and signify, What is it? to which the great lawgiver replies, “ This is the bread which the Lord hath given you to eat.” The French tamarisk is very similar to the manna-bearing species, and, indeed, is often thought to be merely a variety of that plant. A very small portion only of manna is yielded by the trees, which is carefully collected by the Bedouins, who regard it as a luxury, and con- sume the greater portion themselves, retaining only a small quantity, some of which is ex- ported to Cairo, and the remainder sent to the monks of Mount Sinai, who affirm that it is the identical manna. Dr. Kitto remarks, that it is far easier to believe that the immense quantity of manna consumed by the Israelites, during these forty years of wandering in the wilderness, was supplied miraculously, than to imagine the mighty forests of tamarisks which would have been needed to aiford the Hebrews subsistence for only a single week. Indeed, in many cases, in which endeavours are made to prove that the miracles of Holy Scripture are but the mere result of the operation of the laws of nature, one cannot fail to observe, that greater difficulties occur than were presented by the Scriptural account. Oh, when will proud man be content to receive the word of God in the spirit of a little child 1 The substance called manna is found in BEANS. 69 small globules on the branches of the tamarisk, and is caused by the puncture of an insect. CHAPTER XIX. BEANS. 11 Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,” 2 Sam. xvii. 27, 28. The valuable present brought by the hand of the affectionate Barzillai, the friend whom God had given to David in his hour of need, was exactly of the description which a modern oriental would offer on a similar occasion. Little is known of the extent of the culture of the bean in modern Palestine, but the ancient Hebrews, and the Egyptians, both ancient and modern, have used it as a common article of diet. The bean ( Vida faba) is said to grow wild in Persia, but this statement is doubtful. It has, from early ages, been cultivated as an esculent vege- table, as far eastward as China and Japan, and in the north of Africa. The ancient Greeks and Romans used it as food. Pliny mentions it as extensively used in his day. It has no doubt been cultivated in our island from the earliest ages of Britain, though we eat the fresh bean only. Burckhardt mentions, that the 70 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. shores of the Nile are fragrant with the sweet perfume of the bean-fields, and that the bean- sellers of Egypt are at an early hour in the streets vending the boiled bean, which, eaten either alone, or stewed with garlic, is the favourite breakfast of the Egyptians and Arabs. Shaw said, that, in his day, the boiled beans formed the principal food of persons of all classes in that country. This vegetable is also still cul- tivated in Syria, and the stalks of the bean are cut down with a scythe, and bruised, and given for food to cattle. Several varieties of the bean are cultivated. They have all white flowers, pencilled with lilac streaks, and marked with a black spot. This latter hue was thought by ancient writers to be the mark of sorrow on the bean, on account of the evils it caused ; but the nature of the prejudice which the ancients entertained against this plant is not understood in modern times. CHAPTER XX. BARLEY. The “ officers provided victual for king Solo- mon, and for all that came unto king Solomon v s table, every man in his month : they lacked nothing. Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man accord- BARLEY* 71 ins? to his charge,” 1 Kings iv. 27, 28. The earliest mention of the barley ( Hordeum ) is as cultured in Egypt, and smitten by God. when the hail-storm was sent on the land of the hard-hearted Pharaoh. We read that the barley was then in the ear, ripening in the older days, as it does now in that country, a month earlier than the wheat, which the Scrip- ture states at this season not to have grown up, Exod. ix. 31; that is, the green blade was but just above the ground, and was, conse- quently, spared from the injury which the storm brought on the more forward spring crops. Barley is still cultivated very extensively in Egypt; and Burckhardt remarks, that its green ears, boiled and served up with milk, are fre- quently eaten there. The modern Egyptians also prepare an intoxicating liquor from barley, which is much relished by the lower order of the people. Mention is frequently made of the culture of barley in the land of the Hebrews. In the verse at the head of this chapter, we find that it was provided for the horses of the royal establishment. Kuth went out to glean in the barley harvest, and the prophet Isaiah enume- rates among the objects of agriculture the “ principal wheat,” and “ the appointed barley,” Isa. xxviii. 25. But, though barley was the sole food of horses, and was used also for cattle, yet barley- bread was, as it is now, the common food of the poorer people of Palestine. The Israelite of 72 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. Gideon’s army, in his dream, saw the cake of barley-bread falling into the host of Midian, and smiting the tent — an emblem of the sword of the warrior, destined to smite the Midianitish host, Judges vii. 13; and one of the miracles of our Saviour was wrought on the five barley- loaves and two small fishes, with which he fed five thousand people. Travellers in the Holy Land now partake of the barley-cake, and M‘Cheyne and Bonar often mention the cul- ture of this grain. Speaking of the neighbour- hood of Gaza, these travellers say, “ Emerging from the pleasant groves of olives, the country opens upon a fine plain. In the fields, all the operations of harvest seem to be going on at the same time. Some were cutting down the barley, for it was the time of barley harvest, with a reaping-hook, not unlike our own, but all of iron, and longer in the handle and smaller in the hook. Others were gathering that which was cut down into sheaves. Many were glean- ing, and some were employed in carrying home what had been cut or gathered. The barley on the plain seemed good, but the crop amazingly thin, and the rank weeds so abundant, that asses and other cattle were feeding on that part of the field that had been newly cut.” In another spot, the travellers found a fulfil- ment of prophecy in the barley-field. “ Ap- proaching nearer to the brow of the hill of Zion,” say they, “ we found ourselves in the middle of a large field of barley. The crop was very thin and the stalks very small, but no sight could be BARLEY. more interesting to ns. "We plucked some of the ears to carry home with us, as proofs ad- dressed to the eye, that God has fulfilled his true and faithful word, 1 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field/ Mic. iii. 12. The palaces, the towers, the whole mass of warlike defences, have given way before the word of the Lord, and a crop of barley waves to the passing breeze, instead of the banner of war.” Owing to its culture in the early ages of the world, the native country of barley is unknown. A long-standing tradition of the Egyptians asserts, that a knowledge of the art of rearing it was given to their ancestors by their goddess Isis, who found it wild on the earth. Similar traditions are attached to the introduction of many of those plants, which, like the cocoa-nut, the date, and the wheat, have afforded suste- nance to the people of various lands ; and they, doubtless, sometimes preserve the name and memory of an intelligent person, who in some way promoted or improved the agriculture in its earliest days, and so was remembered with reverence, from generation to generation, till the tendency to exalt superior mental power, induced men to regard him as a divinity. Many travellers have fancied that they have discovered the native places of its growth, but the fact that the seed of the cultivated barley, when scattered by the way-sides, produces such seeds only as will not germinate, seems an indication that the plant is not truly wild, c 2 74 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. No grain which has been cultivated by man equals it in the extent of climate under which it will flourish, as it will bear heat and drought better than any, and attain its maturity so speedily, that it requires only that shorter summer of northern latitudes which would not be sufficient to ripen the wheat. Barley was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans. The former people called beer barley- wine ; and the gladiators were called hordiarii , from feeding on this grain. In our land it is sown in spring, and often as early as January. CHAPTER XXI. THE HYSSOP. u He (Solomon) spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall,” 1 Kings iv. 33. It would be an interesting employment could we read the record made by the wise man of the trees and plants of his native land, and it would solve many difficulties, which after much ex- amination of the subject, still remain, in identi- fying the plants of Scripture. But, pleasing and improving as it might have been, God had in his holy word a far higher end than the com- munication of scientific knowledge. The Bible was designed for the labouring poor, as much $s for men of learning and leisure : if it had THE HYSSOP. 75 included information on every subject it must have been far too large to be practically available ; and we may apply to it the observation of the apostle John, respecting the “ things which Jesus did,” that if they should be written every one, “ the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.’ ’ On inquiring of the modern druggist or herbalist for the hyssop, we have presented to us a neat, fragrant, labiate plant thus called. It is the Hyssopus officinalis of the botanist; its Latin and English names having been both formed of the Hebrew word esobh. We read that the hyssop of Scripture was used in the purification of leprosy, and David said, “ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” The ancient Greek and Roman writers meant by hyssop the plant thus called in modern times, and they considered that it possessed valuable cleansing properties, nor is its repute quite extinct in modern days. That this plant was the hyssop of Scripture, is, however, very unlikely. It is not found growing on the walls of Palestine, though wild on barren and dry spots of that land. The same objection may be made to the species of rosemary, mint, thyme, or marjoram, which have, by various authors, been regarded as the hyssop. Rosenmliller, however, considers it to be a species of the latter herb, which he describes as an aromatic plant with white flowers, called by the Germans Hosten or wolgemuth , and the Arabs, tatur. 76 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. This is about a foot high, with woolly leaves, suited for receiving “ the blood of sprinkling” in the offering of the tabernacle, and well adapted for shaking it off. But in addition to the reason above named, another objection applies to the smaller plants, as the thyme and mint. These low-growing plants are incapable of furnishing a stick or a branch long enough to account for its use, as described in the nar- rative of Christ’s crucifixion. In the statement given by St. John, we find, “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar : and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.” In the passage in which St. Matthew and St. Mark describe the same scene, it is said, that the sponge filled with vinegar was put upon a reed or stick. It has been concluded by most commentators that the stick must be that of the hyssop. i( And thus,” says Dr. Harris, “ the bitter was added to the sour, the gall to the vinegar.” Rosenmuller, how- ever, considers that this aromatic plant, as well as the vinegar, were both offered as a relief to the faintness which our Lord must have expe- rienced. He thinks that both hyssop and vinegar were placed upon a reed. The opinion of Dr. Kitto is, that the hyssop of the Old and New Testament is probably a species of the shrub called phytolacca. Seve- ral of these plants are of American origin, but some kinds are found in the east. This plant combines two of the requisite conditions; its ashes yield a great quantity of soda, and its The hyssop. 77 stem would be of sufficient length for its use at the crucifixion. So detergent are its properties, that this writer states, that in America a species of this plant was formerly used by the Indian females for soap. Dr. Royle, however, has recently devoted to this subject a most learned and diligent investi- gation, and he considers that he has proved the caper plant ( Capparis spinosa) to be the hyssop of Scripture. He regards the plant claiming to be the hyssop as requiring these several con- ditions : and that it should be found in all the places where it is in Scripture mentioned as growing, or in use. Now we find it named in Lower Egypt, when Moses commanded the children of Israel to use it to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the lintel and the door-post, that the destroying angel might pass them by, Exod. xii. 22. It is named, too, as used in the ceremonial cleansing of the leper, when the He- brews were wandering in the wilderness of Sinai, Lev. xiv. 6. In the passage at the commence- ment of this paper, it is spoken of as growing on the wall, and would suggest that the walls around Jerusalem would probably present the plant to the eye of the royal naturalist, or at least that the rocks or walls of Palestine should own it as their appropriate plant. As the psalmist alludes to its cleansing properties, it should be detergent, and length of branch is needful to complete the description. Dr. Royle proves that the caper bush has been found by travellers in Lower Egypt, on Mount 73 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. Sinai, and most plentifully around tbs ruins of the Holy City. All writers describe it as trailing peculiarly over walls or banks, like the bramble. Dr. Royle adds, that from the time of Hippo- crates the caper plant was considered to possess the implied cleansing properties ; that Pliny re- marks that it was useful in curing a disease, nearly allied to the leprosy — the very complaint for which it was ordered by God to be used in purification. The bush, in a warm climate, would furnish a stick long enough to support the sponge offered to the Saviour; while the fact that the caper buds, and indeed every part of the caper plant, were in ancient times pre- served in vinegar, would explain the presence, on the spot, of a vessel filled with vinegar. And thus, the solution not rendered absolutely certain, is assuredly divested of difficulties attending the consideration of any of the plants previously named as the hyssop. CHAPTER XXII. THE ALMUG TREE. u The navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s THE ALMUGr TREE. 79 house, harps also and psalteries for singers i there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day,” 1 Kings x. 11, 12. It has been suggested by Dr. Kitto, that a species of pine ( Pinus deodara ) of India is the almug tree of Scripture. Its wood is very fragrant, and so hard that it might well be used for harps and psalteries, and pillars for the temple. The almug tree is, however, by other writers considered to be the tree which produces the sandal wood of the east, (a Santalum.) The yellow and white sandal woods are the pro- ducts of two species, but the kind which is by far the more generally used is the wood of the white sandal tree, ( Santalum album ,) which is a native of the mountains on the Malabar coast, and the isles of the Indian Archipelago. It is a low tree, much resembling the privet. The blossoms are, upon first expansion, of a pale yellow, and afterwards become of a rusty purple colour, but they have no fragrance. Its wood has been valued in the east from the earliest times lor its delicious odour, and is still so costly, that the owner of a sandal tree has seldom patience to let it grow to its full size before he cuts it down. When allowed to reach its full height, it is often twenty or thirty feet. It is used both in India and China for sacrifices to the idols, and is also made into necklaces, fans, boxes, and other elegant articles. It is very durable, for the insect tribe are unable to exist in its strong perfume ; and the love of fragrant odours, which the Hebrews shared largely with other 80 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. eastern people, would induce them to appropri- ate this sweet-smelling wood to the harps and psalteries, on which were to be sounded the loud notes which should lead the voices of Israel in the praise of Jehovah. The Chinese still use this wood for musical instruments; and in many parts of the east, it is powdered and mingled with water for sprinkling over visitors. The sandal oil, which the Hindoos use in their superstitious ceremonies, is either obtained from shavings of sandal wood, or is perfumed by them; and the Brahminical priests make a paste of the powder, with which they impress the mark on the forehead that distinguishes their god Yishnoo. The sandal wood is still used in the east for buildings. CHAPTER XXIII. THE BROOM, “ He (Elijah) went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers,’ ” 1 Kings xix. 4. It was in a mo- ment of bitterness of spirit that Elijah addressed this mournful prayer to God. At such a time, even the heart of the faithful servant of God failed him, and notwithstanding the mercies of THE BROOM. 61 liis past life, he feared to trust his God with the present and the future. But the Hearer and Answerer of prayer forgave his frail servant, and, passing by his momentary distrust, sent, in mercy, his angel to cheer him, while, in the wide desert of Sinai, he lay sleeping under the shadow of a tree. Commentators seem generally to be agreed, that the tree which sheltered the prophet was not the juniper, but the broom. The Hebrew’ -word rothem occurs four times in the Scriptures, and is, in our version, always rendered “ juni- per,” though, in some other versions, it is translated by various other names of plants. Kosenmuller remarks, that the Hebrew word corresponds with the Arabic, ratam , which is a kind of broom, called by the Spaniards retama. This appears to be the Genista mono - sperma of botanists, called also by some, Spartium monospevmam . It is a beautiful shrub, covered with small, white, butterfly-shaped flowers, of sweet fragrance, growing most plen- tifully upon the shores of Spain, where it gives shelter to animals. Virgil speaks of the herds- men as reclining beneath the shadow of the broom. Its light and graceful boughs would seem scarcely sufficiently covered to exclude the rays of the sun; yet, when it grows to a large size and good height, it gives shade enough to render it truly valuable, on lands where shade is none, and which are so desert, that for miles nothing save the broom, and the creeping branches of the restharrow, enliven PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. tlie dreary landscape. Dr. Kitto quotes lord Lindsay’s account of the rattam , or broom, with a white flower delicately streaked with purple, beneath whose shadow he rested; and remarks, that it is a valuable, because unde- signed, coincidence, that in travelling to the very same Mount of Horeb, the prophet Elijah rested, as did lord Lindsay, under a rattam shrub. Large tracts of country are covered with the green branches of this plant, in the deserts south of Palestine, as well as in other parts of Syria. Recent travellers speak of a species of broom, seen wild in the ravines among the hills of Galilee; and the yellow broom, a well-known native of Palestine, gleams from the waysides in profusion, in the valleys which lie among her mountains. Job makes mention of the juniper, or rather broom-roots, as cut up for food by the destitute, and none but those who w r ere ready to perish with hunger could overcome their bitter fla- vour. David, when speaking of the evils of “ lying lips, and a deceitful tongue,” likens them to u sharp arrows,” and “ coals of juniper,” Psa. cxx. 4. The scarcity of wood in these arid lands, where broom often grows, renders it customary to use it as fuel, and the wood is said to burn with greater power than any other. Jerome united with the writers of the Talmud in the belief that the wood of the broom was that to which the psalmist alluded, and some commentators have thought that the peculiarly loud or crackling noise made by the broom THE WILD GOURD AND WILD VINE. 83 wood while burning, served also as a figure for the loud and unjust assertions of the calum- niators of the righteous man. Rosenmulier, in remarking on this subject, quotes an Arab proverb, respecting a tree called gadha, the wood of which has the property of glimmering for a long time when burning. The Arab, when pained by some corroding grief, caused by another, says, u He has laid gadha coals in my heart,” CHAPTER XXIV, THE WILD GOURD AND WILD VINE. u One went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof,’ ’ 2 Kings iv. 39, 40. There was a dearth in Gilgal at this time. Yet the “ sons of the prophets” had gathered around their master, listening with reverence to his hallowed lessons. For their meal, he ordered his servant to prepare some humble food. No garden offered its tribute, and the servant wandered into the fields, in all 84 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE* probability to gather the fruit of the egg plant, or of some similar wild vine. The large, fleshy berries of this plant, much resembling an egg, may often be seen lying among its foliage, in the warm regions of Asia; and they form a common article of diet, both in the East and West Indies, where they are eaten, boiled or stewed, in the present day. But the servant mistook the plant, and brought for the repast some bitter or poisonous fruit. The globe cucumber (Cucumis prophetarum) was long considered to be the wild gourd which became the subject of Elisha’s miracle; but the small size of this plant renders it unlikely. There is little doubt that the gourd gathered from the field was either the Coloquenticla , the colocynth plant, or the squirting cucumber. Each of them has a most bitter taste, and, if taken in any quantity, would be highly dangerous ; but the idea prevalent among the Hebrews, that intensely bitter plants were al- ways deleterious, might at once account for the agonized exclamation, “ O man of God, there is death in the pot!” The colocynth, (Cucumis colocynthns,) as well as the prophet’s gourd and squirting cucumber, are found in abundance in Syria, and especially in the deserts. Dr. Kitto says of the former, “ In the desert parts of Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, and on the banks of the river Tigris and Euphrates, its tendrils run over vast tracts of ground, offering a prodigious number of gourds, which are crushed under foot by camels, THE WILD GOULD AND WILD VINE. 85 horses, and men. In winter, we have seen the extent of many miles covered with the connect- ing tendrils and dry gourds of the preceding season, the latter exhibiting precisely the same appearance as in our shops, and when crushed with a crackling noise beneath the feet, dis- charging, in the form of a light powder, the valuable drug which it contains.” It is a very powerful medicine ; and the use of this powder in domestic purposes, for keeping moths from woollen clothing, is well known. The other plant, which may probably have been the wild gourd, is the squirting cucumber, ( [Momordica elaterium ,) and is often found in our gardens. It has a large root and thick rough trailing stems, so as to be truly a wild vine on the sandy soils of Asia and Southern Europe. Its rough leaves are seated on very long stalks, and its fruit is like a small cucumber, of a greyish green colour, and covered with prickles. When quite ripe, it severs itself from its stalk, and throws out its seed and white juice with great force, and to a considerable distance, through the aperture in the spot where the footstalk was inserted. It is extremely bitter in flavour, and was regarded by the ancients as a valuable medicine. 86 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE, CHAPTER XXV. THE SYCOMORE TREE. 11 Over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baal-hanan the Gederite,” 1 Chron. xxvii. 28. That the sycomore or mulberry fig tree, {Ficus sycomorus ), was one of the most valuable fruit-trees of ancient Canaan, is apparent from its culture having thus been provided for by the monarch of Israel. It is, as the verse quoted would import, a tree especially of the level lands of Palestine, as it will not bear the more inclement seasons of the mountainous regions. The psalmist alludes to its being injured by cold, when, speaking of God’s wrath against the Egyptians, he says, “ He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycomore trees with frost,” Psa. lxxviii. 47 ; and, indeed, the very fact of its flourishing in Egypt would mark it as a tree of the level rather than the high lands. This tree is still extensively planted by the high-road near villages of Egypt, and grows well by the sea-coast. The Arabs call it djummeiz , and plant it as much for its shadow as its fruit. Of the frequent growth of the sycomore in the valleys of the Holy Land, we gather some notion, when we find it said of Solomon, that he made the cedars to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. Palestine is no longer a land -of trees, for all the trees of THE SYCOMORE TREE. 87 the field are withered away, because joy i3 withered away from among the sons of men. Yet travellers still speak of these trees as occurring in various parts, especially in the plains along the Mediterranean, where verdant sy comores, with gnarled trunks, and branches spreading towards the east, are conspicuous features of the landscape, and probably they are the offspring of some which Solomon planted in these very vales. It was among the boughs of a sycomore, growing by the way-side, that Zaccheus climbed to see Jesus, and few trees could be better fitted for his purpose, for its branches spread out so far, that he might safely extend his whole length upon them, and listen to the words of instruction spoken by our Saviour. The village of Jericho, by which this sycomore grew, is now a comparatively desolate spot ; but monkish legends still point to a tree which is said to be that in which Zaccheus climbed, and the traveller looks in astonishment when he sees that the tree to which his atten- tion is directed is not a sycomore but a palm, which he is gravely assured is the identical sycomore of the New Testament narrative. The sycomore is a large tree, spreading so widely that its head is said to be often forty yards in diameter. Its boughs are twisted and gnarled, and covered with broadly ovate leaves, so much resembling those of the mulberry, as to give this plant the name of the mulberry fig tree. It is not at all like the tree which we term sycomore, which is the plane tree. The 88 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. figs do' not grow upon the young branches, but come out in clusters on the trunk and old limbs, and are remarkably sweet. No flowers precede them, but, as Solomon observes, when the flowers of other vegetables expand, “ the fig tree putteth forth her fruit.’ * The wood is by some writers considered to be that of which the Egyptians made their mumm}'-cases. It is now used in Egypt and Palestine for fuel only. The prophet Amos, in referring to the hum- ble condition from which God called him, says, u I was an herdman, and a gatherer of syco- more fruit,” chap. vii. 14; but our translators, unacquainted with the agricultural practices of the east, have given an incorrect rendering in the word “ gatherer.” Amos was doubtless employed in making those incisions in the fruit which Hasselquist saw made in Egypt during his travels. It is customary for the cultivators of this fig, as soon as it is about an inch in size, to pare or scrape off a part at the centre point. Unless this cutting is performed, the fruit secretes a quantity of watery juice, and will not ripen. Pliny, as well as other ancient writers, refer to this practice in their times. THE MALLOW, 89 CHAPTER XXYI. THE MALLOW. The patriarch speaks of those “ who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat,” Job xxx. 4. The mallow, as well as many other mucilaginous herbs nearly allied to it, is well known as afford- ing food to the people of the east, and the old writer Biddulph, who, in the year 1600, travelled from Aleppo to Jerusalem, is often quoted in confirmation of this fact. He came to a village called Lacmine, and sa} r s, “ After the showre, while our horses were preparing, we walked into the fields neere unto the church, and saw many poore people gathering mallows and three-leaved grass, and asked them what they did with it, and they answered that it was all their food, and that they boiled it, and did eate it. Then we tooke pitie on them, and gave them bread, which they received very joyfully, and blessed God that there was bread in the world, and said they had not seen bread the space of many months.’ ’ These poor people seem to have been in a state of poverty, as great as those whom Job describes as collecting the same plants for food, when they were driven in ignominy from among men. The mallow, however, is eaten in the east, as it was in Rome and Greece, by the rich as well as the poor, and is cultivated very extensively in the beautiful gardens of Rozetta, in Egypt, and 90 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. boiled with meat, forms one of the most com- mon culinary vegetables of the Egyptians. The Hebrew word here rendered mallow, occurs but in this one passage of Scripture, and, seeming to denote a plant of a saltish taste, it is not generally thought to mean the mallow. The eastern deserts are truly “ salt lands;” they abound in saline particles, so as sometimes to glitter in the sun by their incrustations of salt; and, consequently, they produce a quan- tity of succulent and saltish, or bitterish plants, such as we find on our sea-shores. Different species cf orache, saltwort, or goosefoot, all occasionally eaten as food, have been supposed to be the mallow of Job. Dr. Kit to thinks it may be the fig-marygold, ( Mesembryanthemum ,) some species of which are covered even in dryest soils with crystals, which look like salt. One species, as he observes, is in frequent use as food among the Hottentots. Burchell says of this kind, the Hottentot fig, that it spreads over the desert in large patches, and produces abundantly in all seasons a fruit of the size of a small fig, which, when perfectly ripe, is of a very pleasant acid taste. He adds, that the outer covering of this fig must be removed, as it is at all times of a saltish flavour, and the fruit itself, when unripe, is saline and austere. It is eaten commonly by the Hottentots, and made by the Dutch colonists into a sweetmeat. All the species of this plant are succulent, and may abound in those wildernesses of Arabia to which Job describes his scoffers as having retreated in their disgrace. THE COCKLE. 91 CHAPTER XXVII. THE COCKLE. u Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and cockle instead of barley,” Job xxxi. 40. The original word here translated cockle, is rendered in another passage “ wild grapes.” Thus says Isaiah, the Lord et planted it with the choicest vine, . . and also made a wine-press therein : and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes,” chap. v. 2. The Chaldee version renders the word, noxious herbs; the Septuagint, blackberry bush. Some writers have considered it to be the poppy, the dwarf elder, or the white aconite, which last is very common in Syria. Hasselquist suggested that the plant intended by the prophet Isaiah might be the hoary nightshade (a Solarium inca - num.) This is a common weed in Palestine and Egypt. Dr. Koyle agrees with Hasselquist in the propriety of this rendering. “ The berry,” remarks this writer, “ resembles the grape in form, though narcotic and poisonous. The name given by the Arabs, signifying, wolf grape, is expressive of its properties.” It grows also in vineyards, and resembles a vine. Dr. Royle adds, that either this plant or the black nightshade will suit the passage of Job equally well. 02 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER XXYIII. THE BAY TREE. il I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found,” Psa. xxxvii. 35, 36. David was not the only one among the Old Testament saints who had wondered much that the ungodly should flourish. Asaph marvelled too at the prosperity of the wicked, but both came to the same conclusion : “ Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright,” said the former, “ for the end of that man is peace:” and Asaph went up to the sanctuary of God, and “then,” says he,“ understood I their end. Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places. How are they brought into desolation, as in a mo- ment!” Psa. lxxiii. 17-19. It is eternity which shall show the real welfare of man. Now the sinner may be as the flourishing tree, but if he seek not Christ, the stricken bough, the smitten flower, the withered grass, are but faint em- blems of the desolation which shall be. It was, in all probability, on account of the never-changing greenness of the bay-tree, as well as for the pleasant and spicy fragrance of its leaves, that the psalmist selected this tree as an emblem of prosperity. The very same causes induced the Greeks and Romans to prize it, and to adorn with it the brow of the THE BAY TREE* 93 priest and hero of antiquity. It perfumed also the sacrifices on the pagan altar, and was borne in the hand as a mark of triumph; while the crown of bay leaves has ever been deemed the appropriate wreath for genius. And as David looked on the green and fragrant tree, un- nipped by winter cold or storm, it would seem natural that his mind should recur to some who seemed to live in unchanging prosperity, and to whom God permitted an uninterrupted season of wealth. In this passage only do we find the bay tree named in Scripture; nor does it appear ever to have been a tree so common in Palestine as to lead to a frequent reference. It is scarcely known as a plant of the Holy Land, although, in some parts of Syria, which are the scenes of Scripture events, as on the road between Acre and Sidon, it flourishes well. The bay tree ( Laurus nobilis ) was the Daphne of the Greeks, and flourishes chiefly in southern Europe. Linnaeus gave to this species of laurel the specific name nobilis , because of its conse- cration to priests, poets, and heroes. In Martin Luther’s translation, it is rendered laurel, in the comparison made by the psalmist. This plant is more often a shrub than a tree, as it is so prolific in suckers and low shoots ; but in Italy, as well as in Syria, it is often from twenty to thirty feet in height, and sometimes is sixty feet high, its dark olive green leaves rendering it a picturesque object. The leaves are used both in England and on the continent of 94 PLANTS AND T11EES OF SCRIPTURE. Europe to flavour various dishes ; and its ber- ries, leaves, roots, and bark, have long been employed medicinally. CHAPTER XXIX. THE CEDAR OF LEBANON. te He (the righteous) shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon,” Psa. xcii.12. The cedar tree and cedar wood, mentioned so frequently in the Scriptures, have been objects of much discussion among learned men. The Hebrew word eves which is translated in our version by cedars, probably refers not to one species only of the pine tribe, but, in the less definite classification of ancient times, includes several. The first place in which cedar is mentioned is in that passage of the ancient Jewish law, when, in cleans- ing the leper, Moses was ordered to make an offering of “ two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop,” Lev. xiv. 4, 6. Yet the people of Israel were then in the desert, and the lofty tree which crowned the heights of Lebanon never struck its roots in the sandy regions of that almost treeless waste, neither did it grow on Egyptian soil. The juniper tree grows plentifully in the rocks and crevices of Sinai; and many writers think that this formed the cedar wood which was commanded to be used, and of the boards of which, in later ages, THE CEDAR OF LEBANON, 95 the altar in the temple of Solomon was formed. Some think the tree used was the common fir tree ; and the fact that the wood of the cedar of Lebanon really yields a very inferior timber, renders it most likely that in a building des- tined, like Solomon’s Temple, to last for ages, some more durable wood should be selected; while the great value attached to the wood of the cedar, by the inspired writers, is not at all applicable to that particular species of pine known to us as the cedar of Lebanon. In the passage at the head of this chapter there is, however, little doubt that reference is made to the cedar ( Pinas cedrus ) itself. David had looked on the goodly cedar, as Moses had done before on “ that great mountain, even Lebanon.” He drew his images from the idea formed in his mind by the contemplation of the actual scene. The cedar is a tree espe- cially magnificent; nor is it, as it once was deemed, of slower growth than other forest trees. Its singularly bold branches extend far from the stem, and form an umbrageous covert, which may be described as consisting of several flat layers of green boughs. The tree is from fifty to eighty feet in height. Of the vast forest of cedars which once formed the glory of Lebanon a few now remain, “And Lebanon, yet sternly green, Throws, when the evening sun declines, Its cedar shades, in lengthening lines.” We may trace, from the accounts of travellers during a succession of centuries, the gradual 96 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. decay of the trees of the olden times. Younger cedars, however, the growth of centuries, but still young compared with the ancient grove, are yet to be found on the heights of Lebanon, and spreading their branches in a wild and irregular manner, are said to contrast remark- ably with the repose of aspect of the older monarchs of the grove. “These lofty trees Wave not less proudly that their ancestors Moulder beneath them.” As professor Martyn observes, however, it is possible that the whole of Palestine does not possess more cedar trees than we could number in the parks, and lawns, and plantations of England. The cedars of the mountains, whose age and appearance warrant the belief that they are the very cedars which were looked on by the psalmist and patriarchs, were, in 1550, about twenty-eight in number. In 1574, twenty-four living and two decayed trees only were to be seen. In 1745, there were but fifteen. Twelve were recently counted by lord Lindsay, who observes that the air was quite perfumed with their odour, u the smell of Lebanon,” so cele- brated by the pen of inspiration. This writer, speaking of these trees, remarks that he and his companions halted under one of the largest of them, inscribed on one side with the name of Lamartine, and on the other with that of Laborde. He found the grove composed of several generations of cedars, all growing pro- THE CEDAR OF LEBANON. 97 miscuously together, the second-rate cedars magnificent enough to form a noble wood, even had the older dynasty become extinct. “ One of them,” says lord Lindsay, u by no means the largest, measures nineteen feet and a quarter in circumference; and in repeated in- stances, two, three, or four large trunks spring from a single root, but they have a fresher ap- pearance than the patriarchs, and straighter stems — straight as young palm trees. Of the giants, there are seven standing very near each other, all on the same hill ; three more, a little further on, nearly in a line with them ; and in a second walk of discovery, I had the pleasure of detecting two others, low down on the northern edge of the grove. Twelve, therefore, is all, of which the ninth from the south is the smallest, but even that bears tokens of antiquity coeval with its brethren. Lamartine’s tree is forty- nine feet in circumference, and the largest of my two on the southern slope is sixty-three feet, following the sinuosities of the bark. And thus,” adds this writer, “ the trees which God had planted remain living witnesses to faithful men of that glory of Lebanon — Lebanon, the emblem of the righteous — which departed from her when Israel rejected Christ, her vines drooping, her trees few 1 that a little child may number them,’ she stands blighted.” The old cedar trees are protected with great care, and are accounted sacred, and termed saints by the Maronites of Lebanon, ecclesias- tical censure awaiting any who should injure D 98 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. tliem. Beneath their shadow the patriarch holds yearly a solemn mass on the day of the feast of transfiguration, and the people of Eden, Beschierai, and Kandbin, and of the vales and villages which lie around, go up in groups to the spot, and offer their sacrifices on a stone altar under this fragrant canopy of boughs. As might be expected, many superstitious legends have been attached to these trees. It is said by the people of Lebanon that they cannot be counted, and strange tales are told of Turkish herdsmen, who gathered their flocks on these hills, and who, venturing to fell one of the trees, were smitten to death on the spot. Many Arab huts are clustered very high up on these lofty mountains ; and these, as well as the ele- vated sites of some of the monasteries which lie in the secluded regions, remind the traveller of that expression of holy writ, “ O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars.” CHAPTER XXX. THE PALM TREE. “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree,” Psa. xcii. 12. The date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera) is undoubtedly the palm tree of Scripture. It is a lofty tree, on whose rug- ged trunk hang the remains of the withered THE PALM THEE. 99 leaves, once bright and green. The up- right nature of the stem of this palm pro- bably induced the psalmist to regard it as a fit emblem of the righteous man, and the Hebrew of the palm, tamar , is thought by some scholars to signify straight or erect. The Mo- hammedans represent their prophet to have used a similar image to that of the psalmist. In one of his sayings, Mohammed declared of the “ virtuous and generous man, he stands erect before his lord ; in every action, he follows the impulse received from above, and his whole life is devoted to the welfare of his fellow- creatures.” The summit of the date palm is crowned with waving leaves, often six or eight feet in length, and from among them hang the clusters of dates — the fruit so valuable to many oriental people. Every part of the tree is prized, and so numerous are the uses to which it is ap- plied, that many pages might be devoted to de- scribing them. The large leaves cover the roofs and sides of dwellings, and give an addi- tional screen to the reed fence ; and the com- mon articles of domestic use, the mats, the baskets, and in many cases the dishes, are made of them. In Egypt, the large leaves are used as fly-flaps to scare off the numerous flies, which, in that land, so beset the resident, that an Englishman is ready to believe that Egypt is still suffering from one of its ancient plagues. Small bunches of the palm leaves are used in the houses of the Egyptians to cleanse 100 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. the sofas and furniture from dust. The lesser boughs are used for fences and bird-cages, and the large trunks sometimes form the timber of slight buildings, while excellent ropes are made from the web-like integument which hangs among the boughs. But, above all, the date palm is valued in the lands where it grows, for its abundant and nutritious fruits, on which tribes of people of Arabia and Africa subsist almost entirely. The Arab, as he listens to the tales of other lands, which tell of luxury and civilization, when informed that they have no date trees, feels nothing but pity for their people, and wonders how they can exist. He gathers in his dates with rejoicings, such as in other lands attend the harvest and the vintage ; and a gloom overspreads the faces of the Arabs, if there is a prospect of a poor crop of dates. The sweetest dates in the world grow at Medina, one of the celebrated cities of pilgrimage. The palms there are not so tall as in Egypt, but the fruit is superior. They are scattered about, growing wild in the plains, yet every tree has its owner, and more than a hundred sorts of date tree, some of which grow in no other land, are said to be found there. It is not surprising that Arab superstition imputes the origin of that which bears the sweetest fruit to Mohammed. Their prophet is said by them to have put a stone in the earth, which in a few minutes rose up a fruitful tree. Another species is said to have bowed, and saluted Mohammed as he THE PALM TREE. 101 passed ; and one kind was esteemed by him so highly, that he advised the Arabs to eat of its dates every day before breakfast. This species is often carried away from Medina by the pil- grims. In so many ways are these fruits dressed for food, that the Arabs have a saying, that “ a good housewife will daily furnish her lord for a month, with a dish of dates dif- ferently dressed.” The kernel of the date is, in the east, ground down, or soaked in water for several days, and used as food for camels, cows, and sheep. Burckhardt says, that they are more nutri- tious than barley ; that there are shops in the cities of Arabia where nothing is sold but the date kernels ; and that the beggars are continually employed, in the main streets, in gathering up those which may have been thrown away. These kernels are also polished and cut into beads, for rosaries. Dr. E. D. Clarke mentions, that when he was at Jerusa- lem, his rooms were crowded with Jews and Armenians, bringing for sale strings of beads, made either of date-stones, or of a very hard kind of wood. This writer observes, that the practice of carrying strings of beads, which prevails so universally in the east among per- sons of rank, was in use long before the Chris- tian era. The people of Barbary use date- stones for the same purpose. The spirituous liquor, called areka, is pro- cured by piercing the spathe which holds the flowers of the date tree, when a sweet liquor, of 102 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. the consistence of syrup, exudes from it. This is supposed to be intended in some passages of Scripture, in which “ strong drink ” is men- tioned. Herodotus, speaking of the palm, which he says was in his time very common in As- syria, remarked, that it produced bread, wine, and honey ; and the ancient Jews understood by honey, not only the substance gathered by the bee, but also the syrup or juice of the date or other trees. “ Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it,” said the prophet Isaiah, (chap, xxiv, 9,) as he saw, in prophetic vision, the sorrows of Judah ; and this passage is translated by bishop Lowth, “ The palm- wine shall be bitter.” This palm-wine is not, when fresh, of an intoxicating quality, being, pre- viously to fermentation, an agreeable and whole- some syrup. The ancient Jericho is distinguished as the city of the palm trees ; and, no doubt, the tall groves of this stately and elegant tree once waved above it ; for, desolate and wretched as is its present appearance, on its site still linger a few remains of the palms. The Tad- mor of the wilderness, which Solomon built, and which received from the Romans the name of Palmyra, wras in both instances thus distin- guished on account of its groves of palm trees. So characteristic of the scenery of the ancient Canaan was once the oriental palm, that the coins of the Roman conquerors of Judaea bore the inscription of a weeping female, sitting be- neath a palm tree, thus fulfilling the prophecy THE WILLOW. 103 against Judaea, that “she, being desolate,” should. “ sit upon the ground.” But the palm, as well as the other fruitful trees, are passed away from the comparatively blighted land ’of the ancient Hebrews. A single palm, here and there only, remains to attest the truth of the description given of that coun- try by ancient writers, as a land of palm trees : — “ E’en now, perchance, by its tall trunk is sitting Some outcast wanderer of the promised land, Across whose mournful breast is dimly flitting Remembrance of the glorious and the grand. “ And now before his view’ the temple shines, A ‘ mount of snow ’ upon the sacred hill ; And on his cheek plays, as the sun declines, The cool breeze, w andering from Siloa’s rill.” CHAPTER XXXI. THE WILLOW. “ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the wil- lows in the midst thereof,” Psa. cxxxvii. 1, 2. The affecting situation of the people of Israel, in the early period of their captivity, is so vividly portrayed in this poetic psalm, that the sight of the willow as it overhangs some of our clear streams, often recalls to the mind the woes of God’s ancient people. For their sins 104 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. God had removed them from their own goodly land — the land of the vine, and the olive, and the pomegranate — and now they were strangers in the proud Babylonia. By its rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, they sat and mourned ; but the burden of their lament was not so much their temporal desolation — it was no£ merely that they were exiles from the homes of their childhood, and the graves of their fathers — but they wept as they remembered Zion, trodden down by the Gentiles. The Lord’s song was no longer sung to the harps of his temple, and how should they sing it in a strange land ? Israel is now scattered further and wider, and Baby- lon is fallen, and her magnificent palaces become a heap of ruins, yet the Tigris and Euphrates still flow on in silence, as they have flowed since God first created the world. Nor are the natural features of the landscape altered, for the willow bough still hangs over their waters, and overtops the low shrubs which are reflected on the smooth and shining surface. Several species of willow grow in Palestine and other parts of Syria, but that which, according to popular tradition, was the orna- ment of the ancient streams of Babylon, is the tree long known to botanists as the Salix Babylonica. This plant grows wild in many parts of Persia, and is common in China, where it appears to be greatly admired, as it is a frequent object in the painted landscapes which we receive from that country. It adorns, too, the rivers of Egypt, but it is not a native of THE WILLOW. 105 European soil. Its introduction here is ascribed to our English poet, Pope, though more pro- bably it was brought hither by Tournefort. That the weeping willow was the tree on which Israel placed their unstrung harps is, however, very doubtful. The grey osiers and various kinds of willow which still fringe the Tigris and Euphrates, mingle with a species of poplar very general by their waters, but no weeping willow dips into these streams ; nor, indeed, is it met with in any part of Babylonia. Keference is doubtless made in Scripture to several species of willow tree. Job, speaking of behemoth, says, “ the shady trees cover him with their shadows ; the willows of the brook compass him about,” Job xl. 22 ; and the reference here is probably to the shores of the Nile, the waters of Sihor, that move softly, where many willows still give their grey tint to the scenery. Isaiah speaks of the “ willows by the water- courses,” Isa. xliv. 4, as fit emblems for the children of godly parents, who shall rise up in vigour and beauty ; and it is a figure which in Judaea, as well as our own land, would be well understood, for it is by the stream side that the willow tree is most frequently found, and where it best flourishes. The botanical name of the genus P Salix , is taken from two Celtic words, “ saZ,” “ near,” and “ ft's,” “ water.” 106 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. CHAPTER XXXII. THE FIR TREE, CYPRESS, AND GOPHER WOOD, u The trees of tlie Lord are full of sap ; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted ; where the birds make their nests : as for the stork, the fir trees are her house,” Psa. civ. 16, 17. This reference to the fir tree occurs in the midst of a beautiful picture, drawn by the psalmist, of the bounty of God and the glory of His power in the works of nature. He lived at a very different period from that in which we look abroad, upon the wide green earth, yet, in these details of natural luxuriance and loveli- ness, we see just such a description as a modern poet might have framed. And as David marked all this, what was his conclusion ? u I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live : I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet ; I will be glad in the Lord.” And oh ! how many, in after times, have gone forth with hearts full of care, to look on the natural world, and have come back singing the praises of God, as they learned lessons of gladness and thankful- ness from contemplating the trees of the forests, and the grassy hills, and the streams among the mountains, and the voices of the birds ! As the Scotch fir grows in the Holy Land, and the Aleppo pine is found in the neigh- bourhood of Palestine, one or both of these are by many considered to be the fir tree alluded to THE FIR TREE, CYPRESS, AND GOPHER WOOD. 107 and the oriental and Corsican pines, as well as some others, have been thought to be included in the fir trees of Scripture. There is no doubt that several species of fir were cultivated in the Holy Land, and an expression respecting the green fir has induced commentators to consider the stone pine (Pinus pined) as intended, at least, in that particular verse, “ I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.” These are words of the prophet Hosea, (chap. xiv. 8,) and as the stone pine produces an edible and sweet nut, often used by confectioners, this is thought to be applicable to the comparison of the prophet. There are, however, some learned writers on Scripture botany, who think that no species of fir is meant in the passages in which our translators have so rendered it. In the Syriac, and some other versions, it has been translated “ cypress and it seems probable that the cypress of the Scripture writers included not only that tree, but also the savine, a species of juniper, which nearly resembles it. Another Hebrew word is rendered “ cypress,” in Isaiah, where the prophet says, “ Fie heweth him down • cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak,” Isa. xliv. 14 ; but the word is generally thought to signify merely an evergreen tree. In the Apocrypha, the cypress is evidently intended, when the high priest is said to be “ as a fair olive tree, budding forth fruit, and as a cypress tree, which groweth up to the clouds,” Ecclo siasticus 3. 10, 108 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. The cypress ( Cupressus sempervirens ) re- ceived its name from the Isle of Cyprus, where it forms a striking feature of the vegetation, and it is indeed a common timber tree in several parts of the Levant. It is to be met with through- out Syria, and is also a tree of Palestine. Its appearance is familiar to us, from its frequent occurrence in the pictures of Mohammedan cemeteries, where its tall, dark, poplar-like form casts its gloomy shadow above the tombs. It is often fifty or sixty feet high, and its ever- green nature induced the ancients to carry it in funeral processions, as significant of the eternity of the spirit of man. The wood of the cypress tree is thought to be the gopher wood, used by Noah in building the ark. On this subject, however, there can be little ground for forming any conclusion. It was of old renowned for its durability. The ancient Egyptians used it for the coffins of the mummies, and the modern Greeks, also, choose this hard and odorous wood for their coffins. The doors of St. Peter’s church, at Pome, are made of cypress wood ; and the eleven hundred years which have passed since they were erected, have left them yet undecayed. Pliny speaks of the statue of Jupiter, in the Capitol, which had been formed six hundred years before, and which, in his days, showed no traces of decay. The Komans were very fond of the cypress tree, and it was planted in ancient Kome, as it is in modern Italy, around the villa and on the garden ground. THE CAPER PLANT. 109 The Greeks certainly, and probably also the Scripture writers, included the savine tree ( Juniperus sabina ) in the general name indi- cating “ cypress,” and the resemblance of the two trees is very apparent. This tree grows in England, but does not produce its seeds in our climate. It is a tree also of the Holy Land. Its wood, like that of the cypress, is very hard and durable. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE CAPER PLANT. “ Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail : because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets,” Eccles. xii. 5. This verse forms part of the description which Solomon gives of the peculiarities of old age ; and its pathos and poetic beauty must be acknow- ledged by every reader of sensibility. The inspired penman seems yielding to the strongest emotions of tenderness, as he depicts the few years which precede man’s going to his long home — the years when strength itself is but labour and sorrow. To the English reader the allusion to the caper bush in this verse is not apparent ; but 110 FLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. the word “ desire ” is translated in the Septu- agint and Vulgate as the caper, and it is also by Rosenmiiller, Dr. Royle, and many eminent scholars, thought to allude to this plant, while the rabbinical writers refer the Hebrew word either to berries in general, or to those of the caper bush. Its being rendered by some na- tural object seems more in accordance with the highly figurative nature of the whole de- scription, where the almond tree stands signi- ficant of the grey hairs, and the grasshopper is emblematical of the lesser troubles of daily life, and that “ which is high,” is expressive of the difficulties which the fears of age would magnify and shrink from. Several species of caper bush are found in warm climates, and are common in Asia, north- ern Africa, and southern Europe. In Palestine, the common caper ( Capparis spinosa) is very general, and, growing in profusion about the hills around Jerusalem, it could not fail to be a fami- liar object to the Hebrew king and poet. Its flowers, too, are very beautiful. They are large and white ; but the large stamens, with threads of purple, tipped with yellow, vary the snowy petals. The plant sometimes grows upright, but more generally spreads itself over the ground or wall, like a vine. Rauwolf mentions having found the plant in the gardens near Bagdad, of the height of a tree, while it grows abundantly in the neighbourhood of Aleppo, covering masses of stones, or branching out from the crevices of rocks or walls. In the THE CAPER PLANT. Ill countries near the Mediterranean, it is like the ivy, about ancient ruins ; and Pliny described it as being set and sown in stony plains. It was well known to the ancient Greek and Arabic writers, and its berries were much valued. The young flower-buds, pickled in vinegar, were used by the ancients, as they are by us, as a condiment to meat. The caper bush is now cultivated in Sicily, in orchards ; and near Toulon its prickly branches mingle in the plantation with the vine and olive. About Paris, numerous walls are covered with the trailing shoots. In Italy, the young fruits, as well as the flowers, are used for the pickle ; and the gathering of these products of the caper bush forms a daily occupation to many of the Italian peasantry during nearly half the year, as the flower produces a continual succession of blooms during the long summer. The caper buds, when gathered, are put into salt and vinegar, and, as soon as the season is over, they are sorted, the smallest and greenest being considered as the best. In this state, this pickle may be kept for four or five years. The peculiar suitableness of this plant for a description of old age, is owing both to the structure of the caper fruit, and to its stimu- lating nature, exciting, as it does, both hunger and thirst, and strengthening the appetite, which in old age has become languid and en- feebled. Several of the caper tribe bear their fruit on very long stalks, so that the pendant position which many fruits assume in ripening 112 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. becomes very obvious in them. The over-ripe pod is thus well-fitted, as Rosenmuller observes, for a comparison to the veteran who has reached the end of his days, and must daily expect to fall into his grave. Like the “ shock of corn, fully ripe,” to which the Scripture elsewhere compares the aged man, it has borne its fruits, and must soon be gathered into the garner. Happy if those fruits have been fruits of love, and works of faith ! The Arabs call the caper plant kaber , or kibbur . It is known in Italy by the name of capriolo , and in France as le caprier . About ten species are cultivated in the English garden, and it is thought by botanists that the plant might be gradually naturalized in this country, by being raised from seeds from several succes- sive generations. Loudon mentions a plant of the common caper, which grew for nearly a century against the wall of Camden House, Kensington. It produced every year its showy blossoms, in great abundance, but the young shoots were frequently killed by the winter frosts. CHAPTER XXXIY. THE LILY. 11 1 am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys,” Cant. ii. 1. Both by its beauty, and the exalted place among flowers which THE LILY. 113 the lily gains by the comparison in this verse, it has always been deemed an appropriate emblem of purity and spotless innocence. The old paintings of the virgin Mary represent her as holding in her hand the tall white lily of our gardens. Sometimes, too, in the ancient pictures of the Annunciation, we find it placed in the hand of the archangel, where it de- notes the advent of the Messiah. Its appear- ance on paintings of this kind is doubtless often owing to its mention in the verse at the head of this chapter, but Dr. E. D. Clarke states another fact which renders it peculiarly appropriate in the pictures of the virgin Mary. “ The word Nazareth, in Hebrew,” says this writer, “signifies a flower; and Jerome, who mentions this circumstance, considers it to be the cause of the allusion made to a flower in the prophecies concerning Christ. Hence the cause wherefore, in ancient paintings used for illuminating missals, the rose or the lily, sepa- rately or combined, accompanied pictures of the virgin. In old engravings, particularly those of Albert Durer, the virgin is rarely represented unaccompanied by a lily.” This writer adds, that hence too may be traced the origin of those singular paintings, connected with the history of our Saviour, which are en- circled with a wreath of flowers, added, appa- rently, not so much for ornament, as for some religious emblem. The great beauty of the large white lily of our gardens ( Lilium candidum) would, in 114 PLANTS. AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. the earlier ages, naturally lead to its selection as the lily of the Scripture ; but it is by no means ascertained that this is a native flower of Palestine, though cultivated on the roofs of houses and in gardens in Syria. Dr. Kitto con- siders the lily of the Old Testament, referred to in the Canticles and also in the description of the carved work — the lily -work in Solomon’s temple, to be the same flower as that to which our Saviour pointed when he wished to encour- age the faith of his disciples, by pointing to the care which he had for the “ lily of the field.” This writer considers it probable that both passages refer to the yellow amaryllis, called now by botanists Oporanthus luteus , which, covering as it does whole vales of Palestine, and blooming very late in the year, when most of the flowers have passed away, might well sug- gest the remark that God cared for them even in winter hours. Its luxuriance would also make it an appropriate emblem for the prophet, when he said of Israel, that he should ‘ 1 grow as the lily.” This flower is of the shape and colour of the crocus, and as Dr. Kitto considers that the Hebrew word of the Old Testament indi- cates a plant in which the number six pre- dominates, and this has six stamens and six petals, he considers this as rendering it the more probable. Many writers have translated the lily of the Canticles by violet, jasmine, and some other flowers ; but Dr. Royle believes that the lily of the Old and that of the New Testament are two THE LILY. 115 distinct plants, and he thinks the former to be the lotus lily of the Nile (. Nymphcea lotus.) This would account for the circumstance that five times in the Canticles, in which the lily is mentioned, reference is made to “ feeding among lilies,” as the seeds, roots, and stalks of this flower are common articles of Egyptian diet ; and this author considers that the frequent reference to this flower in this part of Scrip- ture, may be that the Song of Solomon was written as has been supposed on the occasion of his marriage with an Egyptian princess. Few flowers can equal the Egyptian lotus in beauty. Its form is like that of a rose, and it once floated in profusion on the waters of the Nile, though now it is rare on that ancient river. It is still, however, much admired by the Egyptians, and the ladies wear it as a head- dress. The seeds are eaten roasted, or are ground into flour for bread. Its form rendered it a suitable adornment for the pillars and brazen sea made by Hiram of molten brass, for king Solomon. The lily of the New Testament, which was the subject of the allusion of our Saviour when he tenderly compassioned the weakness of faith of his disciples, has been thought to be the tulip, as that flower grows abundantly in Pales- tine, and its colours would outshine even the tints of the robes of eastern royalty. In the month of January, it is one of the most conspi- cuous flowers of the Holy Land. The beauty f of the tulips in the plain of Sharon, as well as 116 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. about Joppa, has attracted the notice of British travellers. There seems, however, every reason to conclude, from some information recently acquired, that the Chalcedonian, or Martagon lily, ( Lilium Chalcedonicum ,) formerly called the lily of Byzantium, is the lily of the field. Dr. Bowring says on this subject, in a letter, part of which was quoted in the “ Gardener’s Chronicle,” “ I cannot describe to you, with botanical accuracy, the lily of Palestine. I heard it called by the title of Lilia Syriaca , and I imagine, under this title, its botanical charac- teristics may be hunted out. Its colour is a brilliant red, its size about half that of the common tiger lily. The white lily I do not remember to have seen in any part of Syria. It was in April and May that I first observed my flower, and it was most abundant in the district of Galilee, where it and the rhododen- dron, which grew in rich abundance round the paths, most strongly excited my attention.” As Galilee is named as the spot where this was abundant, it seems highly probable that this flower may be the lily of the New Testament, and some of our best modern authors on the subject concur in thinking that it is so. The flower is in our gardens commonly called Turk’s cap. CAMPHIRE, OR HENNA. 117 CHAPTER XXXV. CAMPHIRE, OR HENNA. u Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits ; camphire, with spikenard,” Cant. iv. 13. The word rendered camphire in our version, was by the rabbinical writers universally believed to be the kupros of the Greeks, the al-hinna of eastern countries, and modern research has confirmed their opinion. From the earliest ages, the henna plant {Lav:- sonia inermis ) has been very highly valued in eastern lands. The leaves are something like those of the myrtle, or rather the privet, and the plant was long called in England Egyptian privet. The flowers are white, and grow in clusters, and so powerful are they, that though delightful in the eastern garden, their frequent use in decking saloons becomes quite oppressive to Europeans. The eastern ladies take to the bath large bouquets of these flowers, and consider a nosegay of the henna flower as one of the most elegant gifts which < they can make to a friend. So prized are these nosegays by the Egyptian ladies, that they are jealous and offended at seeing them used by Jewish or European women. The custom of using a dye prepared from the henna for colouring the hands and soles of the feet, and for staining the nails, is universal throughout the east, from the Mediterranean to the Ganges. In some countries, the hair and 118 PLANTS ANI> TREES OF SCRIPTURE. beards of the men are also dyed with this mate- rial, and the manes and tails of horses are ren- dered of a rusty orange tinge by its application. The women of Egypt would as soon think of dispensing with their veils as with the henna dye. The very poorest female in the land would shrink from appearing with feet or nails in their natural condition. The habit of avoid- ing walking, as much as possible, as well as the constant use of friction, renders the skin of their feet almost as soft as that of the hands. The powdered leaves diluted with water is the substance applied, and the bright tint on the soles of the feet needs renewing but once in a fortnight, while the dye on the nails is said to be permanent for years. The fact that the nails of the mummies are tinged with this dye proves the great antiquity of its use, and Dr. Harris considers it probable, that the expression u to pare the nails,” used in the Jewish law, signifies “ adorn the nails,” and refers it to the practice of staining the tips of the fingers with henna, Deut. xxi. 12. The gardens about Rosetta are rendered delightful by the clusters of the henna flowers, such as charmed the inspired writer, when he wrote of the clusters of camphire in the vine- yards, or rather gardens of Engedi. Burck- hardt admired the numerous henna trees that grew at the Wady Fatme, about a day’s journey from Mecca, which rendered this resting-place of the pilgrims a most odoriferous retreat. The henna of this valley is prized so highly that SAFFRON. 119 this traveller mentions that it is sold to the pilgrims, who carry it home as a present to their female relatives. CHAPTER XXXYI. SAFFRON. il Spikenard and saffron ; calamus and cinna- mon, with all trees of frankincense ; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices,” Cant. iv. 14. It is not possible to read the Holy Scriptures with- out observing how great was the esteem in which perfumes were held by the ancient He- brews, and how r profusely they used them. The holy anointing oil was made of cinnamon and cassia, and sweet calamus, mingled with the oil of the olive for the service of the sanctuary, and must have diffused a strong and grateful odour. This perfume was kept solely for the rites of religion, but costly and fragrant essences for domestic use were also early procured by the Israelites from the Phoenicians, and the “ art of the apothecary,” of which we read, even while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, consisted in mingling and preparing the various substances, employed either as articles of luxury, or in the service of God. It is among the perfumed substances enume- rated bj/ Solomon that we first read of the saffron. In the later ages, when our Saviour 120 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. dwelt among men, we find perfumes no less valued, when the alabaster box was broken, or rather unsealed, and its odour filled the room, and when costly spices were taken by holy women to “ the place where the Lord lay.” Either the flower itself, or the drug procured from it, is called saffron. The plant grows wild in every country of the east, and is also largely cultivated, both there and in southern Europe. It is the purple crocus flower ( Crocus salivas ) which blooms in our gardens, and sometimes too on our meadow-lands, in the autumnal months ; and the drug is made of its dried stigmas. The ancients strewed the saffron over their theatres and saloons, and mingled its flavour with the wine. It is still extensively used in the east in cookery, and valued not only as a perfume but also as a medicine. Sir John Chardin remarked on its use, in his day, and Forbes mentions it as employed in wedding cere- monies of India. Chardin also speaks of the saffron at a wedding ceremony, at which he was present in Golconda, where perfumes were lavished on every guest as he arrived. “ They sprinkled them,” says this writer, “ upon those who were clad in white ; but gave them into the hands of those who wore coloured raiment, because their garments would have been spoiled by throwing it over them, which was done in the following manner : they threw over the body a bottle of rose-water, tinted with saffron, in such a manner that the clothes would have THE MANDRAKE. 121 been stained with it. I was thus perfumed with saffron in many great houses of this country, and in many other places. This attention and honour is a universal custom among the women who have the means of obtaining this luxury.” Asia appears to be the native country of the saffron crocus, though some affirm it to be indi- genous to several parts of Europe. As professor Martyn observes, it certainly first' attained its high repute as a medicine in the countries of the east, a reputation almost lost in Europe, except in the lands near the Mediterranean. The Arabic name of the flower is zafran , and from this we derived its various European names. The Spaniards call it azafran , the French and Germans saffran , and the Italians zafrano , while to the Moors it is known by the name of safra. CHAPTER XXXVII. THE MANDRAKE. u The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits,” Cant. vii. 1 q. The mandrake has been long a subject of dis- cussion. Some writers have thought that the original word signified merely flowers, or few flowers, while the citron, the unushroom, and other plants, have been considered as the plant intended. The mandrake ( Atropa mandragora) 122 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. belongs to a family of plants which contain the most deadly poisons, and the plant is itself very deleterious. Hasselquist found it in abundance in a vale near Nazareth. It also grows in the village of St. John, among the mountains, about six miles from Jerusalem. The root is large and fleshy, and commonly forked, and from some fancied resemblance to the human form, as well as from its poisonous qualities, it was said to possess animal feeling, and to shriek if disturbed or torn up from the earth. It has long hairy sharp -pointed leaves, forming a dark green tuft, from the midst of which arise whitish flowers, streaked with dingy purple. The fruit, which is of the size of a small apple, is deliciously fragrant, though the flowers and leaves have a most disgusting odour. CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE RUSH BULRUSH. u Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia : that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,” Isa. xviii. 1, 2. This passage, with three others contained in Scrip- ture, evidently refer to the paper-reed ( Cype - rus papyrus .) The ark in which the infant Moses lay among the sedges of the Nile, termed in our version the ark of bulrushes, was made of THE HUSH BULRUSH. 123 this plant. Isaiah also refers to it, in foretelling the glorious change to come on the church of God, when “ the parched ground shall become a pool,” and “in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes,” Isa. xxxv. 7 ; and Job, alluding to the papy- rus, asks, “ Can the rush grow up without mire?” Job. viii. 11. The paper-reeds by the brooks, of which Isaiah afterwards makes men- tion, refer to sedges in general, and the original word is rendered in the Septuagint green river plants, Isa. xix. 7. The papyrus has a thick triangular stem, about three feet high, and Bruce observes that one of its angles constantly opposed the current, as if to elude the force of the waves. The leaves are long and grass-like, and green spikes of flow'ers crown its summit. It is a common plant in Egypt, Abyssinia, and Syria. The ancients mention it as growing abundantly in the shallow parts of the Nile, and it was found on every part of the shores, fertilized by the river. An ancient writer describes it as presenting forests without branches, thickets without leaves, and as being the ornament of the marshes. And what is the description of modern writers? “Scarcely any of those reeds for which the Nile was once famous are now to be found upon its banks. The lotus in particular has disappeared, so that it is nearly unknown, and the papyrus is very rare.” * The words of Isaiah are these, * Bonar and M'Cheyne. 124 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. 11 The waters shall fail from the sea, and the rivers shall be wasted and dried up.” This has literally taken place. In the days of the pro- phet there were seven mouths of the Nile ; there are now only two. But he further pre- dicts, 4 They shall turn the rivers [that is, the canals] far away ; and the brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up : the reeds and flags shall wither. The paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, and every thing sown by the brooks, shall wither, be driven away, and be no more.’ These words have come to pass, while, at the same time, it is interesting to remark, that Egypt is as famous for its melons and cucumbers, its leeks, and onions, and garlic, as it was in the days of Moses.” From the earliest ages of Egypt, the papyrus was used for many purposes, especially that of the manufacture of paper. Herodotus mentions paper made from it, as having been an article of commerce long before his time. He calls it byblos ; this was also the Egyptian name of the paper-reed ; and it is supposed that from this the Greek word biblion , book, was derived. “ The byblos,” says Herodotus, u annually springs up after it is plucked from the marshes, and the top is cut off arid converted to a differ- ent use from the other part.” He adds, that the lower part of the plant was sold as an eat- able commodity, and that the priests wore shoes made of byblos, and the boats of Egypt had sails manufactured from it ; while the THE RUSH BULRUSH* 125 priest read to the people from a roll of by bios, the list of the names of their kings. When Egypt was possessed by the Greeks, the plant was very largely used for paper, and it was for many centuries an important article of commerce. At that period, although linen, parchment, and other materials were in use, yet the papyrus papier was greatly preferred ; and this paper was employed in Italy until the eleventh or twelfth century, when cotton paper superseded it. No traveller of modern days has given a fuller account of the paper reed than that furnished by Bruce. The paper made by the ancients was formed of the pellicle found between the bark and fleshy part of the thicker portion of the stem, and the pieces were united together till they became of the proper size, when they were pressed and dried in the sun. “ I have,” says Bruce, il a large and very- perfect manuscript in my possession, which was dug up at Thebes ; the boards are of papyrus root, covered first with coarser pieces of the paper, and then with leather, in the same man- ner in which it would be done now. It is a book one would call a small folio, and I appre- hend that the shape of the book, when papyrus was employed, was always of the same form as those of the moderns.” This manuscript was written on both sides, with a deep black ink, and apparently traced with a reed. Some of the papyrus manuscripts found in the swathings of the mummies are perfectly legible, and are interesting, as being the oldest 126 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. written records of any language now under- stood. Bruce afterwards observes, that the Abyssinians still make boats of reeds, like the old Egyptian boats, which are to be seen en- graven on the monuments. Besides these uses, the papyrus reed had others among the ancients. The tassel-like flower at the summit of the stem was used to adorn the temple and crown the statues of their gods, and was worn as a coronal by illustrious men. The root, or woody part of the plant, was chewed, as it still is in Abyssinia, its sweet juice being like that of the liquorice. The dearth of timber trees in Egypt rendered the woody part useful for fuel, and it contributed to the bindings of books, the cordage and mat- ting of common use. Bruce saw this plant growing on the shores of the ancient river Jordan, and adds, that it flourished also near the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. CHAPTER XXXIX. THE NETTLE. “ I went by the field of the slothful, . . . and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof,” Prov. xxiv. 30, 31. u And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof,” Isa. xxxiv. 13. Both these texts in our version contain allusions to the nettle, but this transla- tion is given to two distinct Hebrew words. Dr. Royle thinks that the weed which overran CUMMIN. 127 the field of the slothful, was probably the char- lock, or some other common plant. This he conjectures especially from the passage in Job, where the patriarch describes the former condi- tion of those who now insulted him. “ They were driven forth from among men ; . . . among the bushes they brayed ; under the nettles they were gathered together,” Job. xxx. 5, 7 ; and as the professor observes, the nettles are not plants by the side, or under the shadow of which men would repose. In Isaiah, however, the transla- tion is thought to be correct, though the camo- mile, the thistle, the thorn, or the caper plant, has by various writers been adduced as the right rendering. In these days, as in the ancient times of Palestine, the nettle springs up by the ruined fortress or deserted palace, and presents a true picture of desolation. Our common nettle ( Urtica dioica) grows wild as plentifully in many parts of Asia as in our native land. CHAPTER XL. CUMMIN. 11 Doth the ploughman plough all day to sow ? doth he open and break the clods of his ground ? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the prin- cipal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place? For his God doth instruv'S 128 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. him to discretion, and doth teach him,” Isa. xxviii. 24-26. It is not often that the seeds- man, as he casts the grain into the ground, remembers that his God teaches him to dis- cretion. He believes, perhaps, that human skill has its origin in the human mind. Yet God gave that mind the power of forethought and of reflection, and of adaptation, and all that can make human labour profitable. The cummin ( Cuminum cyminum) is an annual plant, of the umbelliferous tribe, and is not unlike the common fennel, though smaller and less branched. The flowers are white or reddish, and grow in clusters. It is mentioned not only in the Old, but also in the New Tes- tament, where, with the mint and anise, it gave occasion to the reproof given by our Saviour to the Pharisees. It grows wild in Egypt and throughout Syria, but is still cultivated as we see that it was by the ancient Hebrews, who planted it in their fields at a period long before the captivity. The seeds are powerfully aro- matic and pungent. CHAPTER XLI. FITCHES. 11 ‘j hb fitches are not threshed with a thresh- ing instrument, neither is a cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin ; but the fitches FITCHES. 129 are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod,” Isa. xxviii. 27. The Hebrew word rendered by “ fitches,” occurs only in this portion of Scripture. Our translators, in giving it as “ fitches,” intended some plant of the vetch tribe ; fitches, or fetches, being the old English word for vetches. Some of the old versions render the word by “ peas,” and some commen- tators think that the seeds of the black poppy are intended ; but it is most generally believed that the fennel flower (. Nigella saliva) produces the seeds referred to. The nigella is very common in English gardens. Its leaves are deeply cut into numerous thread-like segments, and the white flower, tinged with blue, seems almost veiled by the leaflets around it. It is a native of the east, as well as several parts of Europe, and is extensively cultivated in Egypt, Persia, and India. Pliny said of the gith, or nigella, that in his time it was used in bake- houses, and afforded a grateful seasoning for bread. Its pungency is equal to pepper, and it was a seasoning of dishes long before that spice was known. It was called also nutmeg-flower, by old English writers. A French writer, speaking of the uses of these seeds in modern Egypt, says, that a sort of loaf or cake, finer than the common bread, is made in the large cities, and that it is covered with these seeds, which are procured from upper Egypt. It is called by the Arabs “ black seed,” or “ blessed seed.” These seeds impart to the loaves a flavour winch is aromatic, K a 30 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. and not unpleasant to European taste, and they are said to render the bread wholesome and stimulating to the appetite. It is remarkable that the cummin and the fitches are still gathered in the same way as that which the prophet describes. Were a wheel passed over these plants, they would be bruised, and their valuable and carminative oil would be wasted ; but they are in the east, as well as in Malta, commonly beaten out with a staff or rod. CHAPTER XLII. THE ROSE. “ The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose,” Isa. xxxv. 1. When we consider the great value always attached to the rose in the east, that it is the favourite flower where flowers are most dearly prized, it seems surprising that the Scriptural writers should have referred to it so little. Two allusions only to this flower are made in our authorized version, if we except some in the Apocrypha, which will be alluded to hereafter. The interesting comparison in the verse which heads this chapter, and the no less important one in which our Lord is compared to the Rose of Sharon, are the only two places in which the rose is named in our English version. THE HOSE. 331 The mere English reader is surprised to find, that even here many learned men consider that the rose is not actually referred to. Some ver- sions, as that of the Septuagint and of Luther, render the rose of Sharon as a flower, not giving Sharon as a name, regarding its meaning as “ a flower of the field.” Dr. Kitto, who has no doubt but that the actual rose is intended by the original Scripture, remarks in the “ Pictorial Bible,” that if the word be simply rendered 11 flower,” the rose would be implied, as this is according to the usage in the east. “ Thus,” he observes, u the Persian word gul describes a flower in general, and a rose par excellence ; and the Arabic term ward is employed in the same acceptation.” In days when investigations of this nature were rare, and when men had little encourage- ment to advance opinions contrary to those usually received, the rose of Sharon was affirmed to be a true rose. The old writers, whose feet had never traversed these plains, probably de- scribed it as they considered such a rose should be, and it was said to be a rose, redder, more beautiful, and much larger than ordinary roses, wearing its deep red colour as a memorial of the blood shed by Him of whom it was the type. Neither this, nor any other rose, however, now adorns the plain of Sharon, but instead of this, large clumps of the rose-flowering cistus, with pale rose-coloured or white petals, attract the eye of the modern traveller, and are by many good writers supposed to be the flowers alluded to in the Canticles. The shnpe of this beauti- 132 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. ful blossom is much like that of the brier-rose, but it needs the woody, prickly stem, and the shrubby growth, to render it a true rose. Many valuable authorities might be cited, as considering the word in both the passages of our version to refer to some plant growing from a bulb. By them the original word is thought necessarily to imply this ; hence the asphodel, the meadow-saffron, and the narcissus, all flowers highly esteemed among oriental nations, have been adduced as the flower in- tended. The great beauty of the oriental narcissus, and its abundance in Palestine, and especially in the plains of Sharon, where Cha- teaubriand remarked it flowering in great pro- fusion, seem to render this the most probable of the bulbous plants, if, indeed, it be a necessary inference that it is a flower of this nature. The rose of the Apocryphal books has been very generally admitted to be the rose so prized in eastern lands. “ I was exalted like a palm tree in Engaddi, and as a rose plant in Jericho,” is a comparison found in the book of Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 14 ; and again, in the Book of Wisdom, it is said, 11 Let us crown ourselves with roses before they be withered.” Although the rose grows wild in Palestine and Syria generally, yet the climate does not seem peculiarly adapted to it, nor is it either so general or so flourishing as the poets who have written of Syria’s roses might lead us to infer. THE HOSE. 133 Dr. Kitto observes of the roses, in his “ Pic- torial Palestine,” “ The principal species in this country are the white garden rose, the hundred- leaved, or damask rose, the yellow rose, and the evergreen rose. The Syrian origin of the damask rose is indicated by its name, which refers it to Damascus. In the gardens of that city roses are still much cultivated. Munro says, that in size they are inferior to our damask rose, and less perfect in form ; but that the colour and odour are far more rich. The only variety which exists is a white rose, which appears to belong to the same species, differing only in colour. The same traveller found in the valley of Baalbec a creeping rose, of a bright yellow colour, in full bloom, about the end of May. About the same time, on advancing towards llama and Joppa, from Jerusalem, the hills are found to a considerable extent covered with white and pink roses. Burckhardt was struck with the number of wild rose trees he found growing among the ruins of Bosra, beyond Jordan, and the same traveller informs us that roses are cultivated with much success in the gardens of mount Sinai.” Bonar and M‘Cheyne noticed the profusion of wild roses on the hills of Galilee. For various reasons, Dr. Eoyle considers that the flower mentioned, even in the Apocrypha, is not the true rose. The rose does not grow near Jericho, it is not a spring flower, nor is it abundant near streams, which, from the several allusions in the Apocryphal books, it might be J 34 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. supposed to be. He suggests that the oleander, or rose laurel, ( Nerium oleander ,) is the flower of these books. So abundant in Palestine is the oleander, that it is mentioned by every traveller fond of flowers, as one of the greatest ornaments of the scenery. The Latin name of this plant infers its growth in damp places, and the streams of the Holy Land present groves and thickets of its tall stems, thickly clustered with its rose-like blossoms, and dark, narrow, firm, evergreen leaves. Lord Lindsay was struck with their loveliness. “ The road,” he says, u ran close under Mount Carmel, along the banks of the river Kishon, a rocky path, winding through oleanders in full bloom, reeds and wild flowers of every hue, the birds singing sweetly, the wood-pigeon cooing, and the tem- perature as fresh and mild as May in England.” It clusters in great profusion by the sea of Galilee, where our Saviour, when wearied with the sight of man’s sins, would sometimes with- draw himself to commune with his God and our God, Mark iii. 7. Its placid waters still glide through these lovely flowers, and the lake is still as beautiful as when the rabbies said of it, that “ God had loved that sea above all other seas.” From its frequency by rivers, the oleander seems very appropriate to the com- parison, “as a rose growing by the brook of the field,” which we find as one of the similes of the Apocrypha. THE SHITTAH TREE. 135 CHAPTER XLIII. THE SHITTAH TREE. “ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree,” Isa. xli. 19. The wood of the shittah tree (the shittim) is early mentioned in the sacred writ- ings, when the children of Israel were bidden to make an offering for the building of that tabernacle which was to shadow forth God’s glory while they wandered in the desert of Sinai. The shittim wood was also among the products which Moses was to accept from the man who gave willingly with his heart, for it was then, as it is now, the willing mind made the gift acceptable in the eyes of God. There is little doubt but that the shittim wood was the product either of one or more species of the acacia tree, and it is thought probable that the Acacia gummifera , or the Acacia seyel , produced it, as they both grew abundantly in that dreary wilderness where for forty years the Israelites remained. The acacia trees are essentially trees of the desert, and by far the largest and most common trees of the wilderness of Arabia Petrsea. So, too, on the dr}' sandy wastes of Africa, they abound and thrive. Burchell remarks of some clumps of them, “ The minute leaves of these trees admitted as much sun through them as they threw shadow ; and, although their situ- ation was deep in the grove, there was a light- 136 PLANTS AND TREES OF SCRIPTURE. ness of colouring in the scene, as beautiful as it was remarkable ; and the ground, undu- lating with hillocks of whitish sand, increased that airy effect. Each tree was composed of a great number of stems, but very rarely of a single trunk. Many were decaying from age, and their dead branches, half cracked off, dropped their tops to the ground. This manner of decaying is almost peculiar to the acacias, and is perhaps occasioned by the greater dura- bility of the bark, while the wood is destroyed by insects.” It was, perhaps, such a grove of these airy, feathery trees which gave its name to the valley of Shittim, of which the prophet Joel predicted, that it should one day be wa- tered with the waters of the fountain from the house of the Lord, Joel iii. 18. The Arabs of the desert burn the acacia wood for fuel, and collect food for their cattle of its delicate foliage and fragrant flowers. The Hottentots use the bark of the acacias for cordage and mats, and two species afford very valuable medicines, while the gum arabic is the product of these trees, the A cacia vera of botanists. The very sweet fragrance of the acacia tree seems to give a peculiar appropriateness to its selection by the prophet, in the passage at the commencement of this chapter, where, with the odorous myrtle, it stands significant of the de- light and glory awaiting the church of God. The acacia seyel, most generally believed to furnish the shittim wood, is twenty or twenty- five feet high. THE PINE TREE — THE MYRTLE. 137 CHAPTER XLIY. THE PINE TREE. “ I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together,” Isa. xli. 19. Very great difficulty occurs in fixing the true meaning of the original word, which is here translated “ pine tree but Dr. Kitto considers that if any species of pine is really intended, it is the silver fir tree, ( Pinus pinea.) The silver fir is a tall, upright, and majestic- looking tree. The upper surface of its leaves is of a bright green, and on the under surface two white lines run parallel with the middle vein, which, giving a silvery look to the foliage when turned up, originated its name. Its timber is less valuable than that of some other species of pine, but it is by far the most prolific in resin- ous matter of the pine tribe. The Tahtars consider the presence of these trees as a sure indication of water ; and, if this be correct, it would be very suitable for the comparison of the prophet, as in the preceding verse he had described the Lord as saying, “ I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” CHAPTER XLY. TIIE MYRTLE.