Cedar of Lebanon

“ Who that has climbed the little hill, on whose summit stands the Cedar of Lebanon, and rested beneath the glorious spreading branches, has not felt it a heart-warming sight to watch the crowds of hard-working people rambling with their children amidst the trees and flowers of this magnificent garden ”

“ And when to the idea of beauty that of strength is added, by the pyramidal form of the stem, and the robustness of the limbs, the tree is complete in all its beauty and majesty. In these climates, indeed, we cannot expect to see the Cedar in such perfection. The forest of Lebanon is, perhaps, the only part of the world where its growth is perfect; yet we may, in some degree, conceive its beauty and majesty, from the paltry resemblances of it at this distance from its native soil. In its youth, it is often with us a vigorous thriving plant ”

“ The Cedar of Lebanon is a majestic evergreen tree, generally from fifty to eighty feet in height, extending wide its boughs and branches; and its sturdy arms grow in time so weighty, as frequently to bend the very stem and main shaft. ”

“ In the midst of the grass-plot on the left, as you entered, was a dark-hued cedar of Lebanon, whose flattened layers of foliage looked out of keeping with the English climate and the character of English trees. At the back of the house was an orchard, comprising three ancient apple-trees and the lifeless stump of the fourth; some sunflowers and hollyhocks, alternating with gooseberry bushes, were planted along the walls, which, for the most part, were draped in ivy. ”

“ The Mount Atlas cedar, which forms great forests in the mountain ranges of Morocco and Algeria at high altitudes, is far more erect in growth, and has less tendency to wide branching, than the cedar of Lebanon. The glaucous variety, with foliage of a charming silvery bloom, is one of the loveliest conifers that can be planted, provided it is raised from seed ”

“ Cedrus Libani, the far-famed Cedar of Lebanon, is a tree which, on account of its beauty, stateliness and strength, has always been a favourite with poets and painters, and which, in the figurative language of prophecy, is frequently employed in the Scriptures as a symbol of power, prosperity and longevity. It grows to a vertical height of from 50 to 80 ft.—”exalted above all trees of the field”—and at an elevation of about 6000 ft. ”

“ Has ze signore seen ze cedar of Lebanon in ze garden of ze prince?”
“Yes, Gustavo, the signore has seen the cedar of Lebanon in the garden of the prince, also the ilex tree two hundred years old and the india-rubber plant from South America. They are extremely beautiful but they don’t last a week.” ”

“ Cedar of Lebanon.
The Cedar varies greatly—no tree more so—in height and [Pg 165] general outline, according to situation and environment, and though the stature of well-grown trees in this country may be correctly stated as from 50 to 80 feet, we are not without examples of 100 and 120 feet where the conditions have been specially favourable. There is one of 120 feet at Strathfieldsaye, and among the numerous fine Cedars at Goodwood there is the celebrated Great Cedar, 90 feet high, with a bole 25 feet in circumference, and a broad conical head whose base has a diameter of 130 feet. ”

“ And lastly, it will be very desirable to so place the tree that its effect when grown up may be a good and beautiful one. It is, for instance, very bad management to plant the noble Wellingtonia, or Cedar of Lebanon, near a house. This is very often done in suburban and villa gardens, but if the trees attain their natural size they spoil the house, or must be cut down. The finest cedar of Lebanon we know of is planted within twenty feet of a house, and completely overshadows it ”

“ With Sidon the whole face of the country changes, and here commences that luxuriant and verdant pasturage and foliage, which continue increasing as we progress to the northward and may be said to reach a climax of beauty and profuse richness in the districts of Lebanon, Tripoli, Lattakia, and Antioch. Vast mulberry plantations, orchards of delicious fruits, and vineyards covered with an endless variety of grapes, everywhere delight the eye. At those spots where the soil is untilled, and up the lofty sides of the mountains, grow the cypress, the majestic oak, the stately fir, and the lofty pine ”

“ In the deep gorges flow copious streams, shaded by overhanging woods of pines or cedars; and towards the summit are in several places magnificent cedar groves, remnants of the primeval forest which once clothed the greater part of the mountain. Above all towers the bare limestone of the dorsal ridge, always white enough to justify the name Lebanon (White Mountain) , and for eight months of the year clothed with a mantle of snow. ”

“ Those who are fond of romantic and wild scenery, have only to travel over the Lattakia mountains to gratify their tastes and inclinations. The quiet woodbine, the pleasant myrtle-shade, the jessamine and the rose, the murmuring stream and the lovely cot; these are to be met with all over Lebanon and North Syria—nature, in all her variety, collected, together—hills, valleys, rivers, fountains—gardens, ocean—snow and sunshine; all these may be included in one prospect surveyed from any of the many eminences in the immediate neighbourhood of Beyrout. ”

“ The whole side of one of the largest trees has been torn away by lightning, but the barkless trunk is as hard as ever. The single enemy feared by a full-grown cedar is the thunderbolt. "The voice of Jehovah ... breaketh in pieces the cedars of Lebanon." [8] One or two trees felled by this power have lain prostrate for a generation; but their wood will still turn the edge of a penknife. Here and there, visitors to the grove have stripped off a bit of bark and inscribed their names on the exposed wood. ”

“ The cedar on the lawn gave up two limbs that fell upon successive days, at the same hour too—just before dusk. The wind often makes its most boisterous effort at that time, before it drops with the sun, and these two huge branches lay in dark ruin covering half the lawn. They spread across it and towards the house. They left an ugly gaping space upon the tree, so that the Lebanon looked unfinished, half destroyed, a monster shorn of its old-time comeliness and splendour. Far more of the Forest was now visible than before ”

“ In 1872, we were on a visit at Knowsley, the Earl of Derby's, and we planted there a cedar of Lebanon, which we had brought; and we went over the alkali works at St. Helen's, very interesting to Richard, who did not know so much of the "Black Country" as we did. We then went to Uncle Gerard's, where we met the Muriettas (now Marchesa de Santurce) , and many other pleasant people. Here we went down some coal-pits (265 fathoms) for further information, and we planted more cedars of Lebanon and a bit of Abraham's oak, which we brought from Mamre, some distance from Hebron. ”

“ Chapter 11 1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars.
2 Wail, O fir-tree, for the cedar is fallen, because the goodly ones are destroyed: wail, O ye oaks of Bashan, for the strong forest is come down.
3 A voice of the wailing of the shepherds! for their glory is destroyed: a voice of the roaring of young lions! for the pride of the Jordan is laid waste. ”

“ A few goatherds lead their flocks to a near-by spring that is fed from the snow-pockets of the Cedar Mountain; but at night the wolves can be heard howling hungrily, and by the end of the year the snow drifts deep around the old trees and the passes are closed for the winter.
Yet downward from the cedars is a prospect of warm, fertile beauty. You look deep into the dark green valley of the Kadisha, and then across the lower mountains to where, thirty miles away, the "great sea in front of Lebanon" [1] rises high up into the sky ”

“ Gabriel Sionita, a very learned Syrian Maronite, who assisted in editing the Paris Polyglott, a man worthy of all credit, thus describes the cedars of mount Lebanon, which he had examined on the spot: “The cedar grows on the most elevated part of the mountain, is taller than the pine, and so thick, that five men together could scarcely encompass one. It shoots out its branches at ten or twelve feet from the ground: they are large and distant from each other, and are perpetually green. The wood is of a brown colour, very solid and incorruptible, if preserved from wet. ”

“ The number of their converts continues to increase; they are re-planting the true faith “The Cedar of Lebanon,” which has flourished in the land from time immemorial, and they have prepared the ground, nay, they have already laid the foundation on which to raise an imperishable temple in honour of the only true Mediator, our Saviour Christ, in defiance of the machinations and intrigues of the “wild beast of Rome.” ”

“ She walks in brightness, looking cloudless down,
As if to smile on her terrestrial reign.
Earth should be hush'd in slumber—but the night
Calls forth her worshippers; the feast is spread,
On hoary Lebanon's umbrageous height
The shrine is raised, the rich libation shed
To her, whose beams illume those cedar-shades
Faintly as Nature's light the 'wilder'd soul pervades. ”

“ They illustrate how a species, which may be assumed to have originated in one region, in the course of its wanderings may undergo slight changes until, at a later stage when the plants have disappeared from parts of the once-continuous area, the remaining outlying groups of individuals are spoken of under different specific names. The cedars of Lebanon, known as Cedrus libani, occur as isolated groups on the Lebanon hills as outliers of the larger forests of the Taunus 250 miles distant. The African cedar, Cedrus atlantica, is separated from the Lebanon cedar by a distance of 1400 miles. ”

“ The cedar of Lebanon is known to exist for several centuries, and it is reported that a tree named Adansonia digitata, or monkies' bread or sour-gourd tree, which is well known in the tropical and western coast of Africa, has attained the age of one thousand years, and, when they perish, even their decay furnishes manure for another series, so that nothing is lost by the change, which Dr. ”

“ When Conifers are wished for as large trees, the Cedar of Lebanon, Atlantic Cedar, Pinus sylvestris, Pinus Pinaster, or Cupressus lawsoniana are suitable.
When Abies and Picea lose their symmetry they are usually far from ornamental. All the species and beautiful varieties of Cupressus, Thuya, and Juniperus [Pg 186] are very valuable in a young state. They should be replaced as they become thin and shabby, as they soon do in exposed places. The most satisfactory tree of all is the Yew. Even this hardy tree has its foliage badly hurt by severe winds, but the damage is soon made good. ”

“ I have said that they inhabit the mountains of Lebanon; but I ought to be more precise, and to state, that they are chiefly to be found in those parts of the mountains which are in a north-easterly direction from Beyrout. They are a most industrious, contented, happy people, whose chief occupations are confined to weaving silk, and to tilling their ground—which, in some parts, the rocks and the soil render exceedingly difficult—for cultivating their mulberry trees for silk worms, which they do with great zeal and good effect. ”

“ The scales are close pressed to one another and are reddish in colour. The seeds are provided with a long membranous wing. The root of the tree is very strong and ramifying. The cedar flourishes best on sandy, loamy soils. It still grows on Lebanon, though for several centuries it was believed to be restricted to a small grove in the Kadisha valley at 6000 ft. elevation, about 15 m. ”

“ It literally never rots. The most striking characteristic of the cedars is their almost incredible vitality. The oldest of all are gnarled and twisted, but they have the rough strength of muscle-bound giants. Each year new [172] cones rise above the broad, green branches, and the balsamic juice flows fresh from every break in the bark. In the words of the Psalmist, they still bring forth fruit in old age, and are full of sap and green. “There is not, and never has been, a rotten cedar. The wood is incorruptible. ”

“ No care is taken of the few cedars that remain; visitors cut and hack them as much as they please. The Arabs take the branches for fuel, and the goats nibble the young shoots so that no new trees can grow. In a hundred years, or perhaps less, the famous cedars of Lebanon will have ceased to exist.
"Now we are on the summit of Lebanon, five thousand six hundred feet above the level of the Mediterranean! The sea is far below us, its dark-blue surface filling the western horizon, and between us and the water is the slope of Lebanon and the belt of coast. ”

“ I have seen many grander mountain views, but few so sublimely rugged and broken in their features. The sides of the ridges dropped off in all directions into sheer precipices, and the few villages we could see were built like eagles' nests on the brinks. In a little hollow at our feet was the sacred Forest of Cedars, appearing like a patch of stunted junipers. It is the highest speck of vegetation on Lebanon, and in winter cannot be visited, on account of the snow. ”

“ These are the only trees that grow, and the only place where they grow. No one can explain how the seeds were brought, whether by hand of human, or by a bird, or with the wind. But here on this coast, with the grip of centuries that no storm can dislodge, and with their heads as bright young green as their stems are old and warped, the cedars of Lebanon reign supreme. ”

“ The cedars bear cones about as large as a goose egg. The leaves or spines of the cones are solid rather than detached, as those of our cedars at home. The wood is whitish in colour; it is soft, and for building is far inferior to cypress or pine.
Of the great cedars of Lebanon which Solomon used in building his temple, only a few are left. The ancient Israelites regarded these trees as the ornaments of the mountains and the types of manly strength and beauty
The plain of Beirut is covered with luxuriant gardens, and tree-lined avenues lead out of the city. ”