16 OEIGINAL AETICLES. 



C. Deodara. Proceeding eastward from the Lebanon, we come, 

 after another 1100 miles, to the Cedar forests of Affghauistan, wliich 

 extend thence continuously eastward along the Himalaya, almost to 

 the confines of Nepal. The Cedrus Deodara is in India exclusively 

 a western tree ; it begins where the influence of the monsoons is 

 much diminished, that is, where the climate begins to approximate 

 to that of the Levant. It inhabits various elevations between 4,000 

 and 12,000 feet, and in Aifghanistan outnumbers all other Pines 

 in abvmdance of individuals. Tlie C. Deodara has a much more pen- 

 dulous leader and ends to its branches, and longer leaves, of a more 

 glaucous hue, than C. Libani, though not such sdvery leaves as the 

 C Atlantica. The cones are as large as those of G. Lihani, but the 

 sca,les and seeds are of the same form as those of C. Atlantica, and 

 hence markedly different from those of G. Libani. 



Prom what has been said respecting each of these Cedars, it is 

 evident, that the distinctions between them are so trilling, and so far 

 within the proved limits of variation of Coniferous plants, that it 

 may reasonably be assumed that all originally sprang from one. It 

 should be added, that there are no othei* distinctions whatever between 

 them — of bark, wood, leaves, male-cones, anthers, or the structuj*e of 

 these — nor in their mode of germination or duration, the girth they 

 attain, or their hardiness.* Also, that all are very variable in habit ; 

 so much so, indeed, is this the case with the Deodar, which is the 

 most distinct of all in habit, that though it was not introduced much 

 more than thirty years ago, there are already five distinct varieties 

 sold by nurserymen, some as stiff, others as dark-coloured, and others 

 as short-leaved as the Lebanon Cedar. Also, that though the diffe- 

 rence in the shape of the scales and seeds of Deodara and Libani are 

 very marked, they vary much ; many forms of each overlap ; 

 and further transitions between the most dissimilar, may be estab- 

 lished by intercalation of seeds and scales from C. Atlantica. 



To render these distinctions more clear, I have had drawuigs of the 

 three Cedars made from native and cultivated specimens, selected 

 by Professor Oliver and myself from the Herbarium and Museum at 

 Kew, and which represent what we believe to be the most decided 

 characters that they severally present ; and that these are both faithful 

 and characteristic portraits, Mr. Fitch's name is sufficient guarantee. 

 They represent, in each case, the fully formed cone, and the same on 

 the eve of bursting ; the average and extreme forms of scales and 

 seeds, the anthers, the foliage, and the extreme and mean lengths of 

 the leaves. 



Hitherto, O. Atlantica has been almost universally considered a 



* The assumed distinctive characters between the Deodar and Lebanon Cedar 

 that were founded on the form of tlie cones, the falling away of their scales, the shape 

 of the leaf in section, the wood, its odour and durability, have all been satisfactorily 

 disproved long ago. 



