3 
entirely absent from the two eastern islands, Fuerteventura and 
Lanzarote, whose climate and vegetation approximate very 
closely to that of the neighbouring African coast, and where the 
rainfall is only about 5 in. The Pine forest near the coast in the 
western islands has been cut down so severely that it is rarely 
found below 2500 ft., and much of it only commences about 
4000 ft. Thence it is found in considerable abundance up to 
8000 ft., where the specimens become very dwarf and stunted. 
In this area it frequently entirely covers the slopes and ridges 
of the narrow gorges (barrancos), often being found amongst 
the hard rocks where there is scarcely a particle of soil, but 
where it can send its roots down amongst the crevices. 
The species is confined to the Canary Islands, where it is the 
chief constituent of the arboreal vegetation, mostly forming 
pure forest. Being the dominant tree of the archipelago its 
absence from Madeira and the Azores, with similar climates, 
and sharing much of the indigenous flora, especially trees and 
shrubs, is very remarkable. Of the four interesting Lauraceous 
trees of the Canaries, Phoebe barbusana, Ocotea foetens, Laurus 
canariensis and Persea indica, all occur in Madeira, and the 
latter two in the Azores. In this respect the finding by Carl 
Lindman* of pieces of Canary pine in the driftwood of the 
Norwegian Coast between Drontheim and Tanafjord is interest- 
ing, and it was probably carried there by the Gulf Stream. The 
nearest living relatives of the Canary pine are Mexican species, 
whilst a very closely allied fossil speciest has been found in the 
lava of the Cantal district, South Central France. 
In 1913, whilst on a visit to the island of Ta Palma (see Kew 
Bull. 1913, pp. 287-299), the writer had a good opportunity of 
exploring the forests of native pine, which cover the middle and 
very abundant and covers the slopes from top to bottom, many 
of the specimens towards the dry stream bed being about 100 ft. 
soil. The peaks in the distance are over 70 
about 6000 ft. above the nearly dry river bed in the foreground, 
r 
supports an annual crop of very interesting plants. 
* T,indman in Gétesborgs Konig. Vet. o. Vitt. Sanch. Handl. (reviewed in 
Just, Jahresb. 1883, pt. ii, p. 125). 
+ Saporta in Comp. Rend. Paris, civ. 954-7 (1887). 
