resemble those of the olive, but are of a green colour, intermixed with red and purple; the twigs that bear them always terminate in a single leaf: the flowers are like those of the vine, and, like them, grow in bunches: they are purple, the fruit is the size of juniper berries, hanging in clusters, and each containing a single seed, of the size of a grape-stone. They are of a ruddy purple, and remarkably juicy. Another fruit, or rather excrescence, is found on this tree, scattered among the leaves, of the size of a chesnut, of a purple colour, variegated with green and white: this is supposed to be produced by the puncture of a fly. On opening them, they appear full of worms. The wood is hard and fibrous, and a resin of gum distils from the trunk;" this tree abounds in Judea. Abraham's planting a grove of oaks, (of one or other of these species,) and his entertaining the angels under them, have been already alluded to. Jacob, before he went to Bethel to perform his vows, buried, under an oak in Shechem, all the images, and other vestiges of idolatry, which were very improperly found in the possession of some of his family, Gen. xxxv. 4. Deborah, Rebekah's nurse, was buried beneath an oak at Bethel, with all the honour due to a faithful and attached servant, and the oak afterwards bore the name Allonbachuth, or the oak of weeping. Saul and his sons also, in after ages, were buried under an oak in Jabesh, 1 Chron. x. 12. It was under an oak that the angel of the Lord met Gideon, Judges vi. 11.; and

the prophet, who had been to deliver a message of wrath to Jeroboam, and had received an especial charge not to tarry in Bethel, nor to eat or drink till his return, was found sitting under an oak by an old prophet of Bethel, who by false pretences persuaded him to return: he did so, and his life fell a sacrifice to his disobedience, 1 Kings xiii. 14.

Oak wood, from its solidity and durability, was chosen by the framers of idols as suitable for their purpose, Isa. xliv. 14. And it must be added, that idolatrous worship was often performed under oaks, Isa. i. 29, 30. Ivii. 5. Hos. iv. 13. The first of these passages seems to imply that "the oaks they had chosen," for the purposes of idolatry, were evergreens; and that, as an expression of the Divine detestation and contempt against their folly and sin, these oaks should, contrary to their nature, cast their leaves, and present an image of extreme distress, desertion, and desolation. Hence it is generally supposed that the tree intended is the evergreen or hollyoak, which retains its verdure through the year, and does not shed its old leaves till they are thrust off by the young leaves of the ensuing spring.

The Teil Tree.

The word thus translated (Isa. vi. 13.) is in other places rendered "oak." Some writers suppose that a species of oak is intended; others think the lindentree is meant, which is very common in Syria and Palestine. Its leaf resembles that of the laurel; and its flower, the olive.

The Ash.

The ash-tree is mentioned Isa. xliv. 14. among those used by the makers of idols. Some translators render it the pine; but others consider it to be the prickly ash, well known among us.

The Poplar.

This is twice incidentally mentioned, viz. Gen. xxx. 37. Hos. iv. 13: it is probably the tree well known by that name among us; it appears to have derived its name from the whiteness of its leaves, bark, and wood. In the passage last referred to, it is mentioned, in connexion with the oak and the elm, as forming an idolatrous grove.

The Bay Tree.

This is mentioned only in one passage, (Psa. xxxvii. 35, 36.) where the psalmist describes the flourishing of the wicked as of short duration, and utter extinction. "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." Some writers suppose the laurel is meant, which is of much more vigorous and rapid growth than the bay, and in its prosperity abounds with pleasant flowers: others say that the original word may mean only a native tree, one whose luxuriance had not been checked by transplantation. In either case, there seems to be no accountable reason for its sudden disappearance, and Dr. Watts's versification appears to meet the sentiment of the sacred writer,

"But lo! he perished from the ground
Destroyed by hands unseen;

Nor leaf, nor branch, nor fruit, were found,
Where all that pride had been.”

The Box Tree.

The Box-tree is a pleasing evergreen with glossy leaves, of a fine dark green: it grows to a considerable size in our country, and probably much larger still in the more genial climates and luxuriant soil with which the sacred writers were familiar; it, however, certainly does not bear any proportion, in stateliness of growth, to the trees with which it is associated. Its perpetual verdure is probably the feature for which it is introduced into those prophecies which speak of the blessings of the gospel succeeding the wretchedness of sin and ignorance, under the figure of perpetual beauty and verdure in vegetation, succeeding unbroken barrenness, or noxious luxuriance, Isa. xli. 19. lx. 13. "I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah-tree, the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir·tree, the pine, and the box-tree together.

The Fir Tree.

The fir-tree is a beautiful evergreen, (Hos. xiv. 8.) whose lofty stature and dense foliage afford a convenient habitation even for the largest birds; the stork is said to make the fir-trees her house, (Ps. civ. 17.) It was also cultivated as affording an agreeable shade, and a threat to destroy it was considered an instance of great ambition and oppression

in man; and when threatened by the Lord, as a proof how insignificant the loftiest of mortals is in His sight, see 2 Kings xix. 23. Isa. lv. 13. Ezek. xxxi. 8. The wood of the fir-tree was anciently used in finishing the interior of sumptuous buildings, (1 Kings vi. 15, 34. 2 Chron. iii. 5. Cant. i. 17.) and also in the construction of ships, Ezek. xxvii. 5. For these purposes it is still highly esteemed, and well adapted; as also for the construction of musical instruments, to which allusion is made, 2 Sam. vi. 5. -The fir-tree is one of the evergreens mentioned as succeeding the thistles, thorns, and briers of the wilderness, in those passages where earth is described as a vast moral desert, which the influences of the gospel are to cultivate, and clothe with beauty and verdure, Isa. lv. 13.

The Pine Tree.

This is mentioned among the boughs that were to be collected for making booths for the feast of tabernacles, Neh. viii. 15. also, in two of the passages already frequently referred to, where the spread of the gospel is figured under the idea of pleasant trees growing in the desert, and being made subservient to the purposes of the sanctuary, Isa. xli. 19. lx. 13. Difference of opinion exists as to the tree intended; some think the cypress, others the ash, or elm; others, any gummy resinous trees; and others, the whole species called jasmin, which, on account of their verdure, fragrance, and flowers, are highly esteemed; but perhaps, on the whole, the transla