AN ALBUM OF BIBLE PLANTS.

It occurred to me some years ago that, out of the five or six hundred trees and plants mentioned in the Bible, the leaves of a large proportion of them might easily be obtained, dried and arranged in an album, and that such a collection might be made of great use in teaching Scripture, illustrating the meaning of various texts and throwing a light on obscure passages.

My album of Bible trees and plants is often in request. I have found great pleasure in collecting the various specimens, and am still hoping to secure other trees to complete the book.

At first one is apt to think that only eastern travellers can obtain the requisite leaves, but a little reading and Bible study will convince us that very many Scripture trees and plants are quite common and easily obtainable by anyone living in the country. I subjoin a list with which we may begin our book.

Almond (Eccles. xii. 5); apple (Cant. ii. 3); ash (Is. xliv. 14); barley (Ruth i. 22); bay-tree (Ps. xxxvii. 35); box-tree (Is. xli. 19); bramble (Jud. ix. 14); briar (Mic. vii. 4); chestnut (Gen. xxx. 37); corn (Num. xviii. 27); elm (Hos. iv. 13); fig-tree (Hab. iii. 17); flax (Ex. ix. 31); hazel (Gen. xxx. 37); heath (Jer. xvii. 6); mint (St. Luke xi. 42); mulberry (2 Sam. v. 24); mustard (St. Luke xvii. 6); myrtle (Is. lv. 13); nettle (Is. xxxiv. 13); oak (Gen. xxxv. 8); poplar (Gen. xxx. 37); rose (Is. xxxv. 1); rue (St. Luke xi. 42); thistle (Hos. x. 8); vine (Ps. lxxx. 8); wheat (Ex. ix. 32); willow (Lev. xxiii. 40).

A perfect leaf or spray of each tree should be laid between sheets of blotting-paper under a heavy weight, the paper being dried daily till the specimen is fit for insertion in the book.

The album may be of any shape we please, but about twelve inches by ten is a convenient size and shape for the purpose.

When the leaf is fixed upon the page the Latin and English name should be written beneath it and the Bible texts in which the tree is mentioned.

I find strips of gummed paper hold the leaves most securely, and instead of using stamp paper, which is too thin for the purpose, I cover a sheet of notepaper with thick gum and allow it to become quite dry; it is then ready for use and affords a large supply of tiny strips.

Besides the texts I like to add all I can learn as to the history and uses of the various trees and plants.

Here, for instance, is what I have said about the myrtle.

“A plant originally brought from Western Asia but found wild as far as Afghanistan.

“Among the ancients the myrtle was sacred to Venus; wreaths of it were worn by the victors in the Olympic Games and by Athenian magistrates. It was used in medicine, in cookery, and by the Tuscans in the preparation of myrtle wine, called Myrtidanum, for which purpose it is still employed. It is, however, chiefly used in perfumery, and a highly-scented astringent water called Eau d’Ange is distilled from its flowers. The berries have a sweetish, powerfully aromatic taste, and are eaten in a fresh state or dried as a condiment.

“The wood is very hard and beautifully veined.”

This account I compiled and wrote in my album about twenty-six years ago; perhaps at the present time many interesting facts about the myrtle might be added.

I have as yet only spoken of the trees and plants of easy attainment for our Scripture album.

The more interesting specimens such as carob-tree, olive, pomegranate, palm, oleander and others we may have to wait for, but with a little thought and patience we may probably obtain even these.

If we happen to know any friends who are going to the South of France for the winter, they could easily dry some sprays of the plants I have mentioned, and bring them to us in due time. If we have not this possibility, then in some florist’s greenhouse we may probably meet with oleander and palm, and we may grow our own carob-trees by sowing the seeds in pots, and, sheltered indoors from frosts, they will germinate and in time produce leaves large enough for the album. The carob is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but it is a Palestine tree, and yields the long, brown pods which were the “husks that the swine did eat” in the parable of the Prodigal Son; they are also believed to have been the “locusts” which, combined with “wild honey,” sustained John the Baptist in the wilderness, hence they are often called St. John’s bread. If we desire to buy the pods, they may be obtained at most corn-dealers under the name of “locusts.”

Another interesting fact about the carob is this, that the brown hard seeds used to be the weights jewellers employed for weighing gold, silver, and precious stones; hence the term “carat” with which we are familiar.

The long curved pods are eaten, when fresh, by the poorer inhabitants of Palestine; they are sweet and nourishing.

The oleander is not mentioned in the Bible, but it grows so abundantly on the shores of the Lake of Galilee that it has some claim to be admitted into our collection.

We may grow our own date plants if we will; the seeds germinate very freely at any season if kept warm and in moist soil. The leaf does not divide into leaflets and become a true palm leaf until the plant is five or six years old. If we desire a small palm leaf that will at once fit into our book, any florist will be able to supply a spray of Cocos veitchii, a small and delicate species just fitted for the purpose.

These hints will enable anyone to form a Bible plant album, and many a pleasant and profitable hour may be spent in reading about each tree, and the passages in Scripture where they are mentioned are invested with a deeper interest from our knowledge of many facts which otherwise would have passed unnoticed.

E. B.