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THE CONE-BEARING PLANTS 117 
A Larch, in winter at any rate, is very easy to identify, 
for its leaves fall off, and its circular branching will 
distinguish it at once from our other forest trees. Its 
cones are true fir cones, with thin scales and an erect 
growth, but it may be distinguished by its leaf arrange- 
ment, which is of two kinds. On the new shoots the 
leaves are single, but on the older branches they appear 
in whorled tufts. 
A Cedar is not likely to be confused in England with 
anything else, for its mass of dark foliage and heavy, 
Sweeping branches make it, when full-grown, unmis- 
takable; but a young one may be identified by its 
resemblance to the larch in the leaf arrangement, and 
by its difference from the larch in darker colour and 
leaves that persist for two years. 
The Pines are the hardiest and widespread of all the 
Conifers. Some of them have been induced to make a 
home on the shifting sands of the Landes in the south of 
France, and have made what was a waste a valuable 
timber property. Rugged mountain slopes and barren 
heaths seem to be alike to them, and best known of all 
is the Scotch Fir, a name typical of the misleading 
nature of much popular terminology. It is not a true 
fir at all, but a Pine. The leaves are grouped in pairs, 
each springing from a sheath; the cones are composed 
of thickened and hardened scales, and the tree is in all 
ways a true pine. It is interesting to note how it seems 
able to make a living in poor tracts of the New Forest, 
where oaks and beeches have never been able to get a 
fair start. The hardy and economical Scotchman manages 
to wrestle his way through, and the open heath begins to 
be dotted with small colonies. Besides the other dis- 
tinguishing marks of a pine forest, we may mention the 
