tomary in the east, was preserved in large vessels, which were buried in the earth. The storehouses for wine were not subterranean, but built upon the earth. When deposited in these, the vessels, as is done at the present time in Persia, were sometimes buried in the ground, and sometimes left standing upon it. Formerly also new wine was preserved in leathern bottles; and lest they should burst during fermentation, the people were careful that the bottles should be new, Job, xxxii. 19; Matt. ix. 17; Mark, ii. 22. Sometimes the must was boiled and made into syrup, which is comprehended under the term , although it is commonly rendered honey, Gen. xliii. 11; 2 Chron. xxxi. 5. Occasionally the grapes were dried in the sun and preserved in

.Sam 1, צִפּוּקִים and אֲשִׁישִׁי עֲנָבִים masses which were called

xxv. 18; 2 Sam. xvi. 1; 1 Chron. xii. 40. From these dried grapes, when soaked in wine and pressed a second time, was manufactured sweet wine, which is also called new wine, wi¬n, yλet̃koç, Acts, ii. 13.

§. 70. GARDENS.

Culinary plants and fruit-trees were among the first objects of agriculture. Gardens, accordingly, were very ancient and numerous. By the Hebrews they were called 12 a, i; afterwards the Persian name ?, napádeloos, paradise, was introduced. The later Hebrews were specially invited to the cultivation of gardens by the example of the Syrians, whom Pliny extols, above all other nations, for their knowledge of horticulture. Trees were multiplied by seeds and shoots; they were transplanted, dug around, manured, and pruned, Job, viii. 16; Isaiah, xvii. 10. Grafting occurs figuratively, Rom. xi. 17, 24. The gardens in Persia at the present day are regularly laid out; those in the Ottoman empire are very rude, displaying scarcely any indications of art, except a fountain or receptacle of waters, which is never wanting.

In the Scriptures gardens are named from the prevalence of certain trees; as the garden of nuts, 2, and the garden of Carthaginian apples or pomegranates, 72, Cant. vi. 11. The forest of palms, also, in the plain of Jericho, was only a large garden, in which other trees were interspersed among the palms, Strabo, p. 768. The modern orientals are no less fond of gardens than were the ancient Hebrews; not only because they

yield rich fruits, but because the shade is refreshing, and the air is cooled by the waters, of which their gardens are never allowed to be destitute, 1 Kings, xxi. 2; 2 Kings, xxv. 4; Eccles. ii. 5; Cant. iv. 13; vi. 11; Hos. ix. 13; John, xviii. 1; xix. 41; xx. 15. So fond were the Hebrews of gardens that they used them as burial places, and frequently built sepulchres in them, 2 Kings, ix. 27; xxi. 18; Mark, xv. 46; John, xviii. 1, 2. A pleasant region is called "a garden of God." The trees in the gardens are often used figuratively for men. Those which are flourishing and fruitful denote good men; the withered and unfruitful, wicked men ; and lofty cedars are the emblems of kings, Job, xxix. 19: Ps. i. 3; xcii. 12-14; Jer. xvii. 8; Dan. iv. 10-16; Hos. xiv. 6,7; Matt. iii. 10; vii. 17—20; xii. 33; Luke, xxiii.31; Ezek. xvii. 3, 4; xxxi. 3, 13. An assembly of men is compared to a forest, and a multitude of wicked men to briers, Isaiah, ix. 18; x. 19, 33, 34; xi. 1. Several trees which are often mentioned in the Scriptures, but not generally known, we shall now describe.

§. 71. OLIVE Trees.

The culture of the olive tree,, was very ancient and profitable; and oil is mentioned in Gen. xxviii. 18, and Job, xxiv. 11. In the earliest periods of sacred history, its branches were symbols of peace and prosperity, and have continued to be so among all civilised nations. Olives in Palestine are of the best growth and afford the best oil; hence this region is often extolled on account of this tree, and especially in opposition to Egypt, which is destitute of good olives, Numb. xviii. 12; Deut. vii. 13; xi. 14; xii. 17; xviii. 4. Land that is sandy, dry, and mountainous, is favourable to the production of the olive. The Mount of Olives derives its name from this tree. The olive is an evergreen, pleasant to the view, having widely extended branches. Its numerous branches entitled it to become the symbol of a numerous progeny; a blessing which was attributed to the peculiar favour of God, Psalms, lii. 8; cxxviii. 3; Jer. xi. 16, 17; Hos. xiv. 6. It continues to flourish about two hundred years, and even whilst it is living young olives spring up around it which occupy its place when dead: the young sprouts are called, Psalm, cxxviii. 3. It was customary, also, to raise the tree from suckers, which were transplanted. It requires no other cultivation than

digging the ground and pruning the branches. The fruit is pleasant to the palate, but nearly all of it is thrown into the press, for the purpose of procuring the oil, of which there are sometimes one thousand pounds obtained from one tree. By means of this article the Hebrews carried on an extensive commerce with the Tyrians, Ezek. xxvii. 17; compare, 1 Kings, v. 11; they also sent presents of oil to the kings of Egypt, Hosea, xii. 1. The berries of the olive tree were sometimes plucked or carefully shaken off by the hand, before they were ripe, Deut. xxiv. 20; Isaiah, xvii. 6; xxiv. 13. If, while they were yet green, instead of being thrown into the press, they were only beaten and squeezed, they yielded the best kind of oil; it was called omphacinum, or the oil of unripe olives, and also beaten or fresh oil,, 19, Exod. xxvii. 20. There were presses of a peculiar make for pressing oil, called 1, (from which is derived the name Gethsemane, Matt. xxvi. 36; John, xviii. 1,) in which the oil was trodden out by the feet, Micah, vi. 15. The first expression of the oil was better than the second, and the second than the third. Ripe olives yielded oil of a less valuable kind. The best sort of oil was mixed with spices and used for ointment; the inferior sort was used with food. In sacrifices, accordingly, which were in a certain sense the feasts of God, the king and ruler of the people, the use of oil was commanded, Lev. ii. 1, 5, 7, 15; vi. 15.

NOTE. The cotinus, Kóτivos, and the oleaster, àypéhaos, are both called wild olive trees. They are nevertheless of different kinds, though they are sometimes confounded even by the Greeks themselves. The fruit of the cotinus is used for no other purpose than colouring; but the oleaster, the Agrippa Elæagnus of Linnæus,, is that species of wild olive, the branches of which, (see Schulz, in Paulus's Collection of Travels, vi. 290,) are grafted into barren olive trees, that are in a state of cultivation, in order that fruitfulness may be produced, compare Rom xi. 17, 24.

§. 72. FIG TREES.

Fig trees,, are very common in Palestine. They flourish in a dry and sandy soil, and differ from those in our gardens. They are trees not quite strait, yet tall and leafy. The

shade of the fig tree is very pleasant, and was well known to the Hebrews, Micah, iv. 4. Fig trees begin to sprout at the time of the vernal equinox, Matt. xxiv. 32; Luke, xxi. 29, 30. The fruit makes its appearance before the leaves and flowers; the foliage expands about the end of March, Matt. xxi. 19; Mark, xi. 13. The figs are of three kinds. I. The untimely fig, which puts forth at the vernal equinox, and before it is ripe is called 2, the green fig, but when ripe, the untimely fig, Cant. ii. 13; Jer. xxiv. 2; Hos. ix. 10. It comes to maturity the latter end of June, comp. Matt. xxi. 19; Mark, xi. 13; and in flavour surpasses the other kinds, Jer. xxiv. 2. II. The summer or dry fig. It appears about the middle of June, and comes to maturity in August. III. The winter fig, which buds in August, and does not ripen until the fall of the leaf, which is about the end of November. It is longer and of a browner colour than the others. All figs when ripe, but especially the untimely, fall of themselves, Nahum, iii. 12. The early figs are eaten green, but some are dried in the sun and preserved in masses; or, as they are termed in the Bible, cakes, which are called 7, 7, 1 Sam. xxv. 18; xxx. 12; 2 Kings, xx. 7; 1 Chron. xii. 40. The parable in Luke, xiii. 6, et seq., is founded on the oriental mode of gardening; and the method of improving the palm, the barrenness of which may be remedied in the way there mentioned, is transferred to the fig tree.

, in size and figure resembles

NOTE. The sycamore, the mulberry-tree, and is very common, not only in Egypt but in Judea also, especially in the low lands, 1 Chron. xxvii. 28; 2 Chron. i. 15; ix. 27; Psalms, lxxviii. 47. Its body is large and its branches numerous, growing nearly in a horizontal direction; by means of its branches it is easy of ascent, Luke, xix. 4, 5. It is always green. Its wood, which is of a dark hue, endures a thousand years, and was therefore much used in building, 1 Chron. xxvii. 28; Isaiah, ix. 10. Its fruit proceeds from the trunk of the tree, and resembles the fig, though it is destitute of seeds. It is very luscious, and hence injurious to the stomach: it is not, therefore, eaten, except by those who are unable to procure better food. The fruit does not ripen unless it be opened,, so that the juice, which resembles milk, may be emitted; then the fruit becomes mature, and of a black colour,

Amos, vii. 14. The tree is very productive, yielding its fruits seven times a year, and affording a supply of food for the poor, during four months.

The tree which bears this name, grows in Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and Palestine. It is a very fine tree but does not grow high. Its branches are spread forth luxuriantly; yet by some it is considered as a shrub only. Its fruit is beautiful to the eye, and pleasant to the taste. It is usually about three or four inches in diameter, (the size of a large apple), and is encircled at the upper part with marks resembling a crown. At first it exhibits a green appearance, but in August and September it appears of a reddish colour, approximating to a brown the rind is thick and hard, but easily broken. The interior of the pomegranate is of a yellow colour. It contains several internal rinds or skins, which produce a pleasant juice, having a compound taste of sweet and bitter. The seeds are either white or purple, Numb. xx. 5; Deut. viii. 8. Artificial pomegranates, made to resemble the natural ones, were used as ornaments, Exod. xxviii. 33, 34; 1 Kings, vii. 18.

NOTE. Citron and orange trees appear to have been transplanted at some recent period from Persia into Palestine. Had they been native productions of Palestine, they would have had a name given to them by the Hebrews; for the phrase, ? , the fruit of a goodly tree, Lev. xxiii. 40, means neither the citron nor the orange, but the fruit of any rich tree whatever; for instance, the pomegranate or date.

§. 74. THE BALSAM.

The balsam is both a fruit and a tree. The odoriferous and salubrious balsam, called in Hebrew, is not gathered from the tree in Yemen, in Arabic Abu Shamm, but is distilled from a fruit, which is indigenous on the mountains of Mecca and Medina.

The fruit, which produces this distillation, was cultivated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in Egypt, at Matara, not far from Grand Cairo. That it was cultivated at a very ancient period in Gilead, and also in the vicinity of Jericho and