134 



THE CONIFEEOUS PLANTS OF ITALY. 



3. He says that the cones o^ Picea are smaller and more slen- 

 der than those oi Abies.* The cones of the Spruce Fir are not 

 indeed smaller, but they are thinner in proportion to their length. 

 He says that the female Abies has no seeds.j This passage, ac- 

 cording to Sprengel, refers to the Silver, the scale of which is 

 detached from the rachis, which is not the case in the Spruce 

 Fir. 



4. He mentions farther, that the pinnated foliage of the Abies 

 is sufficiently thick to stop rain. J This is true of the Silver, 

 the leaves of which are disposed in two rows, and thus give tlie 

 branches a resemblance to the wings of a bird. 



5. The Abies is, according to him, the largest and roimdest of 

 all the Conifers.§ This remark applies better to the Silver 

 than to the Spruce Fir, which is like a pyramid. He says that 

 the wood of the Abies is softer and more useful than that of the 

 Picea;\^ and, indeed, the Silver is the most easily split, and 

 gives tlie best boards. 



6. Whilst the epithets nigra or nigrans are given generally to 

 the two species of Fir,1[ Pliny says that the Abies is hilarior, 

 which no doubt means that it is less dark :** this applies best to 

 the Silver. 



7. The Picea, according to Pliny, gives a greater quantity of 

 resin, and inoreover a sort of white pearl, which looks so like 

 incense, that they cannot be distinguished when mixed together ; 

 Avhilst he says it is a fault if Abies gives resin, since its wood is 

 used for building purposes ; but he says in another place that the 

 wood of Picea is also employed for planks and weaker purposes.|| 

 It is easy to imagine that Pliny, talking of the Spruce Fir which 



* Pliny, ihid. — "Picesevero totis paniculis minoribus et gracilioribus," 

 &c. 



f Pliny, ibid. — " Hsec (paniculse) Abietis masculoe primori parte nucleos 

 habent, non item feminse." 



X Pliny, ibid. — " Abies folio pinnato densa ut imbres non transmittal," 

 and compare lib. xvi. s. 38, where it is said of the leaves of both the Picea 

 and Abies " insecta pectinum modo," a remark which is only applicable to 

 the Silver Fir. 



§ Pliny, ibid. — " Abies e cunctis amplissima est — arbore rotundior." 



II Pliny, ibid. — " Materie moUior et utilior." 



\ Virgil, jEneid, viii. 599 — "Nigra Abiete." lb. ix. 87 — " Nigranti 

 Picea." 



** Pliny, xvi. 19 — "hilarior in totum." 



ft Pliny, xvi. 18 — " Picea plurimam resinam fundit, interveniente Can- 

 dida gemma tam simili thuris, ut mixta visu discerni non c[U3eat " — " Ma- 

 teries (Abietis expetitae navigiis) pra;cipua trabibus et pluriniis vita2 operi- 

 bus. Eesina ei vitium, unde fructus unus picece "'■ — " Materies piceiE ad 

 fissiles scandulas, cupasque et pauca alia secamenta;'' and s. 19 — " Piceae 

 perfiisa resina." Abies is sometimes used figuratively for a ship, Virg. 

 Georg. ii. 08. " Et casus Abies visura marines." Compare JE?ieid viii. 91. 



