THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 243 



with their extreme hardiness, accounts for their mountainous character, 

 and the secretion of resin no doubt gives them a power of resisting winds 

 and frosts unhurt, to a degree of which they would be incapable, had not 

 the Creator wisely have fitted them in their physiological economy, for the 

 peculiar circumstances under which they flourish. In the arctic regions, the 

 red spruce is the last example of arboreal vegetation seen by the explorer, as, 

 in the opposite hemisphere, Podocarpus nivalis is the last seen amongBkhe 

 perpetual snows of Tongariro in New Zealand. On the Sierra de la 

 Nieve, Picea pinsapo abounds on the most elevated plateaus, and hangs 

 out its green banners from crags where the snow lies five months in the 

 year, at an elevation of 5,000, to 6,000 feet. The common Larch, unequalled 

 in the kingdom of trees for grace and beauty, flourishes in perfection only 

 when at an elevation of from 3,000 to 9,000 feet, its proper range being 

 the medium between those extremes ; and, on the French and Swiss 

 Alps, the Carpathians and the hills of Hungary, it attains its finest pro- 

 portions only when battling with the mountain blast, and daring the 

 winter, in exposed positions, for many months in the year in the midst of 

 snows and glaciers. The Siberian spruce is found on the Altai mountains, 

 and in Siberia, at elevations of 4,000 to 5,000 feet; the Californian fir at 

 from 5,000 to 6,000 on Cascade Mountain ; the noble Cedrus Atlantica, 

 on the famous Atlas range, at 7,000 to 9,000 feet ; and in the Himalayas, 

 the famous Deodara, which forms a pretty furnishing plant in a pot or 

 tub, attains a height of 150 to 200 feet, and forms vast belts of sublime 

 vegetation at elevations of 6,000 to 12,000 feet, where Pinus gerardiana 

 often keeps it company. The true pines and the silver firs are essentially 

 mountain trees. Besserer's pine flourishes on Mount Ajusco at 1 1,000 feet 

 above the sea level, and, in good positions, attains to a growth of 150 feet. 

 Pinus scoparia, the Broom pine, is of similar stature, and is found at an 

 elevation of 13,000 to 14,000 feet; P. Vilmoriana is still more majestic, 

 growing to 160 feet, with gracefully drooping branches, and rejoicing in 

 the rarefied atmosphere of ranges 11,000 feet above the sea level. Hart- 

 weg found the Orizaba pine at an elevation of 10,000 feet, growing in 

 company with junipers. P. Comonforti abounds on the Mexican hills, at 

 an elevation of 11,000 feet, and others of the family similarly distinguish 

 themselves as the finger-posts to solitudes where clouds and snows and 

 silence keep habitation to themselves, undisturbed by animal voices, 

 and uncheered by even a lonely tuft of grass or lichen. 



But the conifers are not exclusively mountain trees : many of the 

 beautifully foliaged species lately introduced to our gardens from Japan 

 and China, flourish in low sites, and rejoice in shade and moisture. 

 Where the graceful Cryptomeria japonica has failed, it has usually arisen 

 through treating it as a pine instead of a yew, and planting it in dry, 

 barren, and elevated spots, instead of in a rich soil with plenty of moisture. 

 The Taxodiums are all partial to low situations : T. distichum, the deciduous 

 cypress, flourishes in the swamps of Carolina and Georgia, and T. sinense 

 grows in the swamps of Japan, and, somewhat exceptional in the case of 

 the pines, P. rigida, is very partial to wet ground. They differ also in 

 other particulars ; most of them perish soon if planted near the sea, but 

 Pinus pinaster is one of the best trees for planting on the coast. P. 

 radicata is another that bears sea-breezes well. 



As they differ widely in habitat, the majority preferring cold, barren, 



