DESCRIPTION OF THE FIRS. gQQ 



when a branch is divided in the firs, the wood as usiial is 

 perceived to supply the place of the pith ; but in the middle 

 of the wood is a square of pith proportioned to the size of 

 the branches, which is seen in the jBrs only. In all firs there 

 is very little pith : possibly therefore it may be intended to 

 supply the moisture necessary to raise the wood for the pass* 

 ing of the buds : for in the firs almost all the buds may be 

 seen passing from the line of life to the exterior in this very- 

 place; and perhaps no plants give more complete conviction 

 to the mind respecting that important point, namely, whence 

 the flower buds proceed, than the firs ; for they are seen 

 proceeding in every direction from the interior, and throw- 

 ing off their female cones as the stem increases. 



The leaves are formed with a large bladder in the middle. The leases* 

 and a thorn at top. 



The fructification is very diiferent from that of the pines, xhe fructifica* 

 Fig.7isasiuglesqnamaof the cone of the cedar thyoides; fig. tion. 

 8 is a squama dissected; and fig. 1, PI. VI, isthe male anient. 



I now turn to the real cedars, at the head of which may Cedare. 

 be placed the cedar of Lebanon. With these I have joined 

 the larch, and all those the leaves of which grow in bun- 

 dles. In fructification they much resemble the pines ; but 

 their nature agrees not together; and if any should be se- 

 parated beside the cypress, it should certainly be these. 

 They are hardy, and brave every climate, from the hot 

 Bermudas to the moist Barbadoes, and the cold New Eng- 

 land, and grow in perfection in all. They grow also in the 

 bogs of America, and on the mountains of Asia. The ce- 

 dar we have from Jamaica is a spurious sort ; and the wood 

 so porous, that wine soaks through it; while that of Caro- 

 lina (probably a true cedar) is so firm and close, that it 

 often preserves the strongest spirits in vigour. In this coun- 

 try none of these firs have any scale, or covering to their 

 leaf buds; and they are also perfectly alike in their manner 

 of forming their leaves. It is curious, that in the pines, Leaves, 

 where the leaves are few, or in pairs, they weave in bundles; 

 and in the cedar, larch, Sec, where they come out in bun- 

 dles, they weave singly. There is no apparent leaf bud ; 

 the whole work is formed within. Each separate little calyx 

 has a bundle of threads, which it Witids round the long 



Vol. XXIX— Jvly, 1811. 1P vessels. 



