228 



PINACEiE. 



[Gtmnogens. 



Conifers are broken up by many modem botanists into 2 Orders, Abietese and Cu- 

 pressese, the distinctive characters' of which are given below. But I regard the cones as 

 the true mark of Conifers, and consequently, such groups as mere divisions of the same 

 Natural Order. Recently, ISIr. Bennett has given the weight of his authority in favour 

 of the separation of the two groups, relying upon the pollen of Abietese having a curved 



oval form, dark granu- 

 lar extremities, and an 



intermediate band ; 



while Cupresseoe have 



spheroidal grains 



whose outer coats are 



ruptured and thrown 



off, in consequence of 



the great capacity for 



absorbing moisture 

 possessed by the mucous matter suiTounding 

 the inner coat. But however beautiful this 

 distinction may be in theory, it is by no 

 means clear that it is of value in practice. 

 Indeed, ]\Ir. Bennett admits, that " it is not 

 always a safe criterion in systematic ar- 

 rangement ;" and a comparison of his own 

 statements with those of Mohl and others 

 does not increase confidence in its import- 

 ance. I, however, admit two well-defined 

 groups, one of which has the OAiiles inverted 

 and the others erect. 



Natives of various parts of the world, from 

 the pei'petual snows and inclement climate 

 of arctic America, to the hottest regions of 

 the Indian Archipelago. The principal part 

 of the Order is found in temperate comitries ; 

 in Europe, Siberia, China, and the temperate 

 parts of North America, the species are ex- 

 ceedingly abimdant, and have an aspect very 

 different from that of the southern hemisphere 



of Pines, the Larch, the Cedar, Spruce, and Juniper ; the place of which is supplied in 

 the latter by Araucarias, Podocarps, Dammars, Eutassas and Dacryds. A Callitris 

 (quadrivahis) is found on Atlas, and a true Araucaria (Bidwillii) in New Holland. In 

 New Zealand the Dacryds are sometimes no bigger than INIosses, 



No Order can be named of more universal importance to mankind than this, whether 

 we ^-iew it ^^'ith reference to its timber or its secretions. Gigantic in size, rapid in 

 growth, noble in aspect, robust in constitution, these trees form a considerable propor- 

 tion of woods or plantations in cultivated countries, and of forests where nature remains 

 in temperate countries in a savage state. Their timber, in commerce, is knowTi under 

 the names of Deal, Fu', Pine, and Cedar, and is prmcipally the wood of the Spnice, the 

 Larch, the Scotch Fir, the We^-mouth Pine, and the Virgmian Cedar : but others are of 

 at least equal, if not greater value. Pinus palustris is the Virginian Pine, so largely 

 employed in the navy for masts. The Stone Pine, and Pmus halepensis (-n-eu/cT/, Diosc.) 

 are extensively used by the Greeks in ship-buildmg. The gates of Constantinople, famous 

 for having stood from the time of Constantine to that of Pope Eugene IV., a period of 11 00 

 years, were of Cypress. The wood of Juniperus oxycedrus is supposed to have been that 

 from which the images of their gods were carved by the Greeks ; and finally, the Deodar 

 wood of India is all but imperishable. The Norfolk Island Pine is an immense tree, known 

 to botanists as Eutassa (Araucaria) excelsa ; the Huon Pme of Tasmannia isMicro- 

 cachr\'s tetragona ; the Kawrie Tree of New Zealand, or Dammara australis, attains the 

 height of 200 feet, and yields an invaluable fight compact wood, free from knots, from 

 which the finest masts in the navy are now prepared. But they are both surpassed by 

 the stupendous Pmes of north-west America, one of which, P. Lambertiana, is reported 

 to attain the height of 230 feet, and the other, Abies Douglasii, to equal or even to 

 exceed it. The latter is probably the most valuable of the whole for its timber. Their 

 secretions consist of various kinds of resinous matter. Oil of turpentme, common and 

 Burgundy pitch, are obtained from Pinus sylvestris ; Hungarian balsam from Pinus 



Fig. CLVI.— Pollen of, 1 . Junipei-us virginiana; 2. Pinus sylvestris. 



Fig. CLYII.— Cupressus sempervirens ; 1. a scale of a male cone with pollen ; 2. a scale of a female 

 cone with nalied ovules ; 3. a ripe cone ; 4. the same with one of the scales removed. 



Fig. CLVII. 

 In the former we have various species 



