substances were also used, such as the stalks of clover or similar plants, of which, leaves have been found in the bricks.

Stubble is that part of the stalks of corn left in the ground after the corn is cut, and generally does not exceed a few inches in height.

HAY (Heb., chatzir).

"The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself."-Prov. xxvii., 25; 700 B.C. "The hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing."-Isa. xv., 6; 726 B.C.

The word "hay" in these two verses seems to indicate the grass in a growing state, and not in the state of hay as so called in this country; and, according to Tristram, the drying and stacking of grass is not practised in Palestine.

CHAFF.

"Like the chaff which the wind driveth away." -Ps. i., 4.

The

Chaff is the husk which surrounds the grains in the ears of corn. The chaff is separated from the grain by threshing and winnowing. word occurs thirteen times in the Bible, but the above is sufficient to show that it is a worthless substance, being in most cases spoken of as easily driven by the wind or destroyed by fire,

In this country it is not altogether useless, as by some it is substituted for feathers or other material for stuffing beds.

CALAMUS (Heb., keneh bosem).

"Take thou also unto thee

23;

of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels."-Exod. XXX., 1491 B.C. "Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon."-Cant., iv., 14; 1014 B.C. "Cassia, and calamus, were in thy market."-Ezek. xxvii., 19; 588 B.C.

Admitting that the above named spices were produced by the same plants, as known by their respective names at the present day, and as they are not natives of Syria, but of India and Ceylon, it must be inferred that they were brought by traders from the South, either through Arabia, or in ships by way of the Red Sea to Egypt; and it must further be inferred, from the knowledge and possession of these spices by the Israelites in the Wilderness the first year after they left Egypt, that they must have brought them from that country.

It is supposed by some commentators that sweet calamus and the sweet cane of Jeremiah are only different names for the same plant, but there is every reason to believe that they are two, the first being a sweet-scented and the other a sweet-tasted plant.

Sweet calamus is now considered to be the sweet-scented Andropogon Calamus aromaticus, a common grass in North West India, the leaves of which are highly odoriferous when bruised, and taste strongly of ginger. Cattle are very fond of it, but it has the property of scenting their flesh, milk, and butter. It yields an oil known as ginger grass oil. Its allies are A. Schoenanthus, the well-known lemon grass, which is extensively cultivated in Ceylon for its oil, and A. muricatus, known in India as cuscus ; the fibrous roots of the latter are sweet scented, woven into screens for windows and

and are

verandahs.

These grasses, in their modes of growth, form tufts, producing leaves 3 to 5 feet long; in age the tufts become elevated on a short stem, often becoming caespitose (that is, many growing together), and properly have no claim to be called calamus, which is the Greek for cane of any kind, and which is also the name of a genus of slendergrowing palms, called canes, of which walking sticks are made.

In Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, calamus is said to be Acorus Calamus, there called the river reed. It is well known in this country as sweet flag, which is a more proper name for it than "reed," as it has no stem. It has sword-shaped leaves about two feet in length, produced from

a thick creeping rhizocorm, the whole being aromatic; it is common. in many countries throughout temperate Europe and Asia.

It is used in perfumery, and it is quite probable that it was so applied by the Jews, but we do not consider it to be the "sweet calamus" of the above verses.

In consequence of some of the Cyperus family being sweet scented, and C. pertenuis being used by the ladies of India for scenting the hair, it has also been supposed by some to be the sweet calamus, spoken of in the above verses. It is represented in this country by C. longus, the roots of which are sweet scented, and known by the name of English galangale.

SWEET CANE (Heb., keneh).

"Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money."-Isa. xliii., 24; 712 B.C. "To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country?". Jer. vi., 20; 612 B.C.

Some commentators consider the "sweet cane from a far country" to be the same as "sweet calamus" (see Calamus), but it appears to us that the words refer to two distinct plants, and that "the sweet canes from a far country" were stems of the sugar-cane. Although the art of

making sugar from them was probably then unknown to the Jews, the canes would nevertheless be highly valued for sweetening food or drink.

The sugar-cane, Saccharum officinarum, is a native of the Eastern hemisphere, but its original locality cannot be ascertained, it having been early spread over the tropical countries of Asia. It is believed to have been introduced into Europe by the Venetians about the middle of the twelfth century, and, some time in the sixteenth century, was introduced by the Spaniards into America. It is now grown in Palestine, but its cultivation is limited.

REED (Heb., agmôn).

"Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand and pierce it."

-2 Kings xviii., 21; 710 B.C. "He (Behemoth or hippopotamus) lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens."-Job. xl., 21; 1520 B.C. "The brooks of defence shall be emptied and dried up: the reeds and flags shall wither."-Isa. xix., 6; 714 B.C. 66 With a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed."Ezek. xl., 3; 574 B.C. "And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand."-Matt. xxvii., 29; 33 A.D. "And one ran and filled a spunge