1873.] NOTES OX HARDY CONIFERS. 257 



NOTES ON HAUDY COnSTIFEHS. 



LIBOCEDRUS (tHE INCEXSE CEDAR). 



The name of this genus is derived from libcuios, incense, and 

 Cedrus the Cedar, in allusion to the strong odour emitted by the 

 wood while burning. The few species of which it is composed have a 

 general resemblance, both in foliage and habit of growth, to their near 

 allies the Thujas, with which they were until recently grouped. They 

 are all remarkably handsome evergreen trees, some of them very lofty, 

 and highly valued for their timber, which is of excellent quality, and 

 extensively used for almost every purpose. 



Of the known species, only two can be recommended for outdoor 

 cultivation in Britain : the others, though frequently met with, and de- 

 servedly popular as conservatory plants, are much too tender for the 

 rigours of even ordinary winters. 



L. Chilensis {the Chilian Lihocedrus), also known as Thuja 

 Chilensis, is found wild in the high sheltered valleys of the Andes 

 of Chili, where it forms vast forests, and attains heights of from 

 60 to 80 feet. The timber is described as being hard and durable, 

 of a fine yellow colour, and pleasantly fragrant. It was first in- 

 troduced into British gardens in 1848, and has proved one of the 

 most distinct and beautiful of coniferous shrubs; its close bushy 

 habit, and warm green colour, forming a pleasing contrast to other 

 species of a more difi'use habit and darker hue. It is, however, 

 extremely susceptible of injury from autumn and spring frosts, and 

 in many localities will not survive the winter without protection ; 

 though in such as are mild and well sheltered, with the soil sufficiently 

 dry and porous to insure the early ripening of the young shoots, it is 

 found to stand remarkably well, forming a neat conical arborvitce- 

 like shrub, with a great profusion of slender branches, much divided into 

 flat branchlets resembling the fronds of a Lycopodium. The leaves are 

 very small, and have a bright shiny green colour, with a silvery 

 glaucous line along the centre of the under surface. Though even 

 under the most favourable circumstances a slow-growing plant in this 

 country — and by no means likely to attain such heights as in its 

 native valleys — it is well worthy of a trial wherever a situation suitable 

 for its wants is at the disposal of the lover of a really handsome and 

 distinct ornamental shrub. 



L. Decurrens {the Decurrent-Ieaved Lihocedrus). — This species, 

 called in some collections " Thuja gigantea," — a name which, as we have 

 pointed out in a former paper, really belongs to the plant popularly 

 known as " Thuja Lobbii," — is indigenous to Upper California, where it 

 is widely distributed, and occurs in considerable abundance at eleva- 



