18 ABIES; OR 



with rather a smooth, ash-grey coloured bark, a little cracked 

 outside. It is found in the northern parts of China, and plen- 

 tiful on the Island of Jezo and Karafto, but much cultivated 

 in the gardens of Japan, particularly within some of the large 

 towns of Jeddo, where it is called ' Jezo-Matsu.' Timber, soft 

 and light. 



Much confusion seems to exist in books respecting this 

 species, as to whether it is a Spruce or Silver Fir, and which, 

 no doubt, arises from its having loosely-placed persistent scales, 

 cylindrical cones, somewhat erect, and nearly terminal, with 

 flat leaves, more or less scattered spirally along the shoots when 

 young, and more or less two-rowed on the adult ones, from all 

 of which it would seem to be intermediate between the two i 

 particularly in having soft angular seeds full of turpentine. 

 Still, having persistent scales, it must be considered as belonging 

 to the Spruces rather than the Silver Firs. 



No. 14. Abies Mertensiana, Lindlet/, the Californian Hemlock 



Spruce. 

 Syn. Abies heterophylla, Rafinesque. 

 „ „ taxifolia, Jeffrey. 

 „ „ Canadensis taxifolia, Gordon. 

 „ Pinus heterophylla, Endlicher. 

 „ „ Mertensiana, Bongard. 

 „ Picea Mertensiana, French Gardens. 



Leaves, solitary, linear, somewhat in two rows, flat, and 

 channelled on the upper side, tapering to the base, with a very 

 short footstalk, and somewhat obtuse at the point, from one half 

 to three quarters of an inch long, and rather more than half a 

 line broad in the larger ones, but very unequal in size, some 

 being very long, while others are very short, and intermixed on 

 the same shoot, of a very pale green colour, slightly glaucous 

 below, and thickly placed on the branchlets. Branches, very 

 numerous, slender, and more or less bent do'ivnwards at the 

 ends ; branchlets, very slender, flexible, long, drooping and 

 rather downy when young, but much tuberculated when old 

 from the falling leaves ; cones, solitary ovate, blunt at the ends. 



