HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES 5 



in Haddingtonshire, when swept away by the 

 great flood in the Tyne, in 1891, was nearly 70 feet 

 high, and contained fully 140 feet of timber. It 

 succeeds best in damp, rich soils, and where the 

 atmosphere is comparatively still, and charged 

 with moisture. The well-known Canada balsam 

 is the resin which exudes from the bark of this 

 tree. It was formerly used in medicine and is now 

 chiefly employed in mounting microscopic objects. 



A. BALSAMEA HUDSONIA, Efigelmann, is a dwarf 

 and sterile form, found at high elevations, but is 

 of no particular interest as an ornamental shrub. 



A. BRACHYPHYLLA, Maximowicz. Nikko Fir. 

 Short -leaved Japanese Fir. (Synonyms : Pinus 

 brachyphylla, Parlatore ; Picea brachyphylla, 

 Gordon ; Abies Veitchii and Picea Veitchii, Hort.) 

 Saghalien and Japan. 1870. — This is well worthy 

 of attention, being of free growth, highly orna- 

 mental, and perfectly hardy. It is handsome in 

 habit, having regular whorls of somewhat rigid, 

 horizontally placed branches, with densely ar- 

 ranged short leaves that are deep green above 

 and intensely silvery beneath. The purplish cones 

 are cylindrical, 3I inches long by ij inches wide, 

 and smooth, by reason of the non- protruding 

 bracts. The stem grows stout and straight, and 

 when the tree is planted in hght, dampish soil and 

 a sheltered site, the upward rate of growth is 

 from 18 inches to 24 inches a year. There cannot 

 be a doubt that in the present species we have a 

 highly ornamental tree and one that will yet turn 

 out of value for forest planting, and every year 

 it seems to improve and become a greater favourite 

 with lovers of hardy conifers. The largest tree 



