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trees in the region, which was planted with orchards by the Numenoreans. These orchards provided fresh fruit to Minas Tirith even up to and during the War of the Ring. They had to be as important to Gondor as olive trees were important to the Greeks. The blossoms of Lossarnach were so varied and beautiful that the people of Minas Anor/Minas Tirith undertook "expeditions to Lossarnach to see the flowers and trees...." Ioreth, the old woman working in the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith, spoke of wandering through the woods with her sisters, and she mentioned the roses of Imloth Melui, which she enjoyed when she was young. She was well-versed in old rhymes and knew the common names of plants (at least, of athelas, which she only recognized as kingsfoil). Something of the frontier tradition survived the civilizing influence of Elendil's folk, or else the veneer of civilization was lost through the centuries as Gondor's fortunes rose and fell. The Peoples of Middle-earth indicates that Isildur and Anarion founded the cities of Minas Anor, Minas Ithil, and Osgiliath. In fact, Osgiliath was the first city they built. They must therefore have gathered up as many of the local people as they could find and gave them crash courses in how to build cities. Each passenger on the nine ships must have been worth his or her weight in mithril, for their knowledge of how Numenor had functioned would have proven invaluable. The native-born Numenoreans would have been to their Middle-earth cousins like Noldor fresh-returned from Aman settling among the Nandor. Concerning the peoples of Middle-earth, the "Rivers and Beacon-hills" essay also contains a passage -- crossed out by Tolkien -- which discusses the practice of building temples, which the Numenoreans did not follow prior to their corruption by Sauron. The Paths of the Dead are said to contain an ancient temple, which the ill-fated Baldor tried to break into. He was attacked from behind by enemies (apparently Gwathuirim who revered the area) who followed him into the Paths of the Dead. Tolkien readers have generally assumed for decades that Baldor's inexplicable death owed something to the Dead themselves, but that is apparently not the case. These essays provide new insights into Tolkien's vision of Middle-earth. But they also raise new questions even as they struggle to answer old ones. A door has been opened and we cannot help but peak around the corner, for

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