The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-05
LEBANON CEDARS
 CROW AT HARVARD An Interesting Sight at Jamaica
 Plain Conservatory SEEM TO BE FLOURISHING If the Arnold Arboretum Succeeds In Growing Little Trees From Asia
 Minor It Will Do What
 Others Have Tried.
SEEM TO BE FLOURlSHlNG

Minor 1t Will Do What
 Others Have Tried.
 Boston. Mass, July f. 19Os.-A thousand little eedars of Lebanon growing up from seed brought from Asia Minor is one of the interesting sights just now In one cor ner of the frames of the Arnold Arbore- tum at Jamacia Plain Not that they appear at present much like their his
 toric predecessors. In fact to the unin- itiated all cedars look alike during their first year. Some of them In little boxes, so that they can be put out into the sunshine or kept in the sheltering conservatories as may seem best, while others stand rank by rank in the open-air bed. But what makes them particularly fascinating is their literary interest and the fact that they seem to be In a fair way to grow and flourish. Just now, in spite of the inelemency of this spring weather, they are fourishing like the traditional green bay tree and if they con tinue to do so, the Arboretum will have introduced into our northern attitudes for the first time one of the most striking and decorative landscape trees that grows.
 Will the Arnold Aboretum succeed in growing these Lebanon trees? It is not the first attempt that has been made in this climate, but 1t is the first to give any sign of being successful. Previous att tempts have failed because in the trop- cal summers and arctic winters of the 14 .
 tation of the Orient survives but a year or two at the best. But the Arboretum hopes 10 acclimate a hardy growth in accordance with the precepts of modern arborieulture which have been developed during years of curious experimentation at this museum of living trees. a sort of outdoor and hot-house laboratory be- longing to Harvard University and per forming work of ld-wide reputation.
 To understand what hopes the Arbore- tum people have of successful propa gating this difficult species you need only remember what has been done in the way of extending the range Of some of the western soft wood tres. For instance, when a Scotchman named Douglas dis covered the splendid frs on our Pacific coast that have been given his name he took the seed back home with him and cultivated it there. In that equable cli- mate II ulu well put tue lTSl DbuEldSS HTS planted in the eastern United States were from seed that came from England and these-eurously enough--would not grow more than a few years. standing to be killed by the first severe winter that came along Much the same experience the silver fir of California and the Engleman spruce from the forests of Oregon suf- fered when transplanted the climate of Old England was much more even l than that Of NaW EnR1aO1 while they would grow abroad they died here. But presently somebody brought to the Arboretum seeds of the frs and spruees from the mountains of Colorado. The trees there were to all appearances ex- acty like those on the snores of the Pacific, but apparently they had been ae- climated, as it were, by centuries of ex- posture in high attitudes At any rate. brought east and exposed to the rigors of our climate they throve and grew to full stature developing into some of the best of our landscape trees.
 The experience gained with these Wes- tern frs prompted a similar experiment with the cedars of Lebanon. Since the trees had again and again proved them selves not hardy enough for New Eng lands cmate--and that means for prac- tically all the country north of the lati- tude of central New Jersy-the Arbore- tum sought out some specimens that had already ben through the process of standardization. finally securing a num- Der of cones from mountains about Smyrna. the coldest region Tn which the tree is found and one with weather al- most as variable as that of Atlantic coast. These seed from Asia Minor were planted in January, 1902 and came up in due course. Today. when they are a year and half old. the little sprigs stand two or three inches high and in a box hardly a foot square there are P of them enough to cover the Mount of Olives. probably; perhaps as many were used in building the great court of the tenn pie of Solomon with It's mighty pillars. They are small. but already they have a most interesting personality. an anus ing air of self-mportance, as it were. and one can easily imagine their unde- veoped grandeur.
 5 For since the days of Solomon the ce- dars of Lebanon have been the type , of majesty and beauty. In maturity { they grew to 60 feet in height, with fiat
 wide-spreading branches set symmetri- 5 cally about a sturdy trunk. The long life of their fine-fibred wood and the strong balsam of their seed gave them wonderful properties in the minds of the 2 ancients. among whom the cedar was the most valued of trees. When Solomon built his temple and his palace he bought l from Hiram, King of Tyre, the great , cedars of Lebanon to make pillars and i beams and walls. and from him hired his worxmen. too. And Solomon had three 1 score and ten thousand hewers in the : mountains besides the chief of Solo i mons officers which were over the work, , three thousand and three hundred. which , ruled over the people which wrought o in the work The temple was seven years in building. And Solomon gave l Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household and , twenty measures of pure oil thus gave [ Solomon to Hiram year by year"
 The cones of the cedar of Lebanon are close-knit and hard. Inside, the little e ptchv seeds. packed closely together in = a solid core. have wonderful fimy wings 2 to carry them far and wide and drop them 2 so that their sharp points shal strike
 Into the earth and give them permanent , lodgment After they have grown to full s size on the tree the cones are three or four ' years in ripening before they burst and
 scatter their seeds. and at the Arboretum ? they had to be drilled and set in hot wa ter to force them open. They were as full of fragrant basam however as if they