2GG TUANSACTIONS OF UOYAL SC:OTTISH ARBOUICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and distinct coniferous trees. It is perfectly hardy, of free growth, 

 and not exacting as to the soil in which it is j)lanted. No other 

 conifer with which we are ac(jnainted is possessed of the gorgeous 

 foliage tints which are so marked a characteristic of this pi'etty 

 tree. In winter it glows with a reddish copi)ery hue, which 

 colour is again changed to a cheerful green in the early spring 

 months. When associated with our darkest evergreens, the bright 

 coppery hue is considerably enhanced ; but to show it to peifec- 

 tion it must be planted at a considerable distance from these, and 

 with green as a background. The feathery growth of the tree is 

 elegant in the extreme, while tlie foliage is easy of arrangement. 

 It is more hardy than C japonica, and has stood unharmed 

 throughout the worst winters we have experienced since its 

 introduction. It is one of the most ornamental and useful of 

 conifers. Introduced from Japan in 1861. 



43. C. japonica {Japanese Cedai-). — This distinct and beautiful 

 conifer is found to be pei-fectly hardy, sound in constitution, of 

 rapid growth when once established, and not fastidious as to soil or 

 situation, provided the former be naturally sweet and healthy, or 

 artificially made so. The branches spread horizontally, are slightly 

 drooping with up-curved tips, the lateral ones dividing into 

 numerous frondose branchlets, thickly covered with bright, glossy- 

 green foliage. Delighting and thriving luxuriantly in cool, moist 

 soils, the humid atmosphere of Great Britain is peculiarly suited 

 for the successful cultivation of this handsome conifer. Better, 

 indeed, than the generality of coniferous trees, the Japanese cedar 

 seems to thrive in the dense still-air of mid-woodland, and is not 

 at all fastidious about the juxtaposition of surrounding trees, if 

 their extending branches do not actually commingle with its own. 

 The timber of this tree is light but lasting, and employed for 

 room-panelling, for furniture, and in the making of light packing- 

 cases. It is white, soft, and easily worked, with a pleasant 

 perfume, which makes its adoption for panelling or room furniture 

 particularly desirable. We may add that the wood produced in 

 Britain ditfers but little from foreign timber. 



44. Cunninghamia sinensis (Chinese Fir). — This tree is of too 

 tender a constitution for the climate of Britain generally, still in 

 certain favoured localities, particularly within the influence of the 

 sea, it does fairly well, and forms a handsome specimen, which, 

 for distinct appearance and beauty of foliage, has few equals 

 among hardy conifers. In no other conifer with which I am 



