258 THE GARDENER. [June 



tions of from 4000 to 5000 feet above the level of the sea : it was first 

 sent home by Jeffrey in 1854, and is one of the best known and 

 most ornamental of that distinguished collector's introductions. In 

 its wild state it is described as a thick bushy tree of from 40 to 

 50 feet in height, with a stem from 7 to 9 feet in circumference 

 near the ground. 



As seen here, it is a plant of great beauty, with a close columnar 

 habit of growth, the stem thickly clothed with long flattened Lycopod- 

 like branches, divided into innumerable branchlets of a dark glossy 

 green colour. Though quite hardy as far as frost is concerned, it is, 

 like many of its allies, impatient of exposure to violent winds, and suc- 

 ceeds best in a sheltered situation ; and while it grows in almost any 

 kind of soil, it is always to be seen in the highest perfection in a deep 

 light loam, with a moderately dry and porous subsoil. 



It is scarcely necessary to add that this is a strikingly effective 

 plant, either in the mixed shrubbery or as a single specimen in the 

 park or lawn ; and that its close spire-like habit of growth, combined 

 with its dark sombre colour, renders it peculiarly useful for avenue 

 rows, particularly when alternated with other Conifers of a more dif- 

 fuse form, and of lighter green or glaucous tints, such as Cedrus deo- 

 dara or Cupressus Lambertiana. 



SCIADOPITYS VERTICILLATA (tHE UMBRELLA PINE). 



This genus, of which only one species is as yet known to botanists, 

 is so named from the singular arrangement of its long leaves in regu- 

 lar whorls at the termination of the shoots, suggestive of the ribs of 

 an umbrella. It is indigenous to mountains in Japan, and though 

 extensively cultivated there, in gardens and in the vicinity of temples, 

 is but sparingly met with in a wild state. 



It is described as one of the most beautiful of Japanese Conifers, 

 forming in its native habitats a tall stately conical tree of from 80 

 to 140 feet in height, densely furnished with alternate or verticillate 

 branches, spreading out from the trunk horizontally. The leaves are 

 from 2 to 4 inches long, linear, of a tough leathery texture, and 

 of a warm green colour : they are produced at the point of each 

 season's shoot, in whorls of from 30 to 40 ; and as they remain persist- 

 ent for three years, three distinct sets, representing as many growths, 

 are generally present. Though known and described many years 

 before, this interesting plant was only introduced into Britain in 1861, 

 seeds being early in that year sent home by Mr Fortune. From 

 what we have seen of it in various districts of the country, it is, 

 though of very slow growth, an exquisitely pretty little shrub — hardy 

 enough if planted in a warm sheltered situation ; and though we do 



