CHAP, cxiii. coni'fer^. ^bie'tin,?.:. 2111 



to the north and middle of Europe, to Siberia, and to the temperate parts of 

 North America. Some of the South American species, such as the Araucdria, 

 differ considerably in general aspect from those of the northern hemisphere ; 

 and still more so do those of Australia and Polynesia, such as Ddmmara and 

 Cunninghams. Very few species of /Ibietinae are natives of warm climates ; 

 for, though a few, such as the Pinus occidentalis of St. Domingo, and the 

 Pinus longifoha of the East Indies, are found within the tropics, yet they are 

 generally in localities rendered temperate either by their elevation or their 

 proximity to the sea. In Nepal, according to Royle, the ^^bielinas are usually 

 associated with the oaks, and " though but small shrubs are found in the 

 vicinity of the highest peaks, no where are more splendid pines to be seen than 

 at 11,000 ft. or 11,300 ft. of elevation. The species most common are, Picea 

 Webbiawa, Cedrus Deoddi-a, Pinus excelsa, and ^^bies Monnda." (Roi/le 

 Illust., p. 23.) According to Link, the highest limit of the pine, as scattered 

 trees, on the Himalayas, is 12,300 ft., but the pine woods do not extend beyond 

 from 11,000 ft. to 1 1,800 feet. ; though, "at a much higher elevation, poplars 

 12 ft. in circumference have been observed." (As. Jour., May, 1835, p. 629., as 

 quoted in Jameson's Journal, July, 1837, p. 38.) The ^bietinEe are almost all 

 social trees, and they are generally found covering extensive tracts of country, 

 while, from their being evergreen, they do this to the exclusion of almost all 

 other trees and shrubs ; a pine forest consisting more exclusively of pines, 

 than an oak forest does of oaks, or a forest consisting principally of any other 

 kind of deciduous tree does of that from which it takes its name. The 

 nearest to the .4bietinae in exclusiveness is the beech. (See p. 1936.) The 

 iibietinae, with very few exceptions, are found in thin soils, on rock, or on a 

 cold but dry subsoil; and but a few species, such as the yf bies excelsa and 

 A. canadensis, delight in situations where the surface of the ground is saturated 

 with water during a great part of the year. The most common species in 

 Europe, and also the most useful, is P. sylvestris ; and the most common in 

 North America is P. iS'trobus, which produces the white deal of commerce; 

 and these species are found covering immense tracts of arid sand, in both hemi- 

 spheres where scarcely anything else will grow. The species found in a wild 

 state, in good soil in the south of Europe, are chiefly the Picea pectinata, and 

 some of the varieties of the Pinus Laricio. 



Veryfew species ofyibietinae have been found in a fossil state. Nevertheless, 

 some remains of leaves, aments, and seeds of a species of Pinus, which Bron- 

 gniart has named P. Pseiido-^'trobus, have been found in some tertiary de- 

 posits at Armissau, near the Narbonne, in France, where also have been found 

 the cones of eight other different species of Pinus, none of which now exist : 

 the names given to these by Brongniart will be found in his Histoire des Vege- 

 taux Fossiles, and in the JDictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles, tom. Iviii.- p. 3. 

 In the same tertiary deposits in England, and also in Germany, some of these 

 cones, or some cones nearly resembUng them, have also been found in a fossil 

 state. 



The distribution of the species and principal varieties of the .^bietinae is as 

 follows : — 



In Europe, 14 kinds: viz. Pinus sylvestris, pumilio, Miighits, Laricio, 

 Pallasi«72«, Pinea, maritima, brutia, halepensis, Pinaster, Cimbra ; ^^bies 

 excelsa; Picea pectinata ; JLarix europae'a. 



In Euro'pe and Asia, 3 kinds : viz. Pinus halepensis. Pinaster, Cembra ; 

 ^^bies excelsa ; Zyarix europae^a. 



In Asia, 19 kinds : viz. Pinus Massonf«?2«, longifolia, sinensis, excelsa, 

 GerardmHff, halepensis, P'mkster, Cembra ; ^'bies dumosa, orientalis, Smith- 

 idna (MoriWa), excelsa; Picea Wehhidna, Pindrow ; Lmix europae^a; t'edrus 

 Libani, Deoddra ; CunninghaniM: sinensis ; Ddmmara orientalis. 



In Africa, 2 kinds : viz. P. canariensis, Pinea. 



In Eurojje and Africa, 1 kind : viz. Pinus Pinea. 



_ In North America, 40 kinds : viz. In the United States and Canada, 18 

 kinds : Pinus Banksiana, inops, resinosa, variabilis, PsVla, Hgida, pungens, 



6x 



