HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES 73 



several aspiring shoots, most of which are tilted 

 over gracefully, and with the drooping side-shoots 

 form the chief characteristics of the species. The 

 leaves are whorled, usually in threes, sometimes 

 in decussate pairs, deep grass-green above, and 

 with a silvery glaucous tint beneath. The cones 

 produced in this country are small globose bodies 

 consisting of about three rows of whorled scales. 

 The largest specimen I have seen is growing in a 

 sheltered site on a steeply sloping bank on the 

 Churchhill estate, County Armagh, Ireland ; but 

 there are many fine examples in this country from 

 Gordon Castle, Banffshire, southw^ards. The soil 

 in which the Irish tree is growing is loamy peat, 

 with plenty of free, not stagnant, moisture. This 

 specimen, with its long whipcord-like branch tips, 

 is decidedly ornamental, and makes one wish that 

 the species was more commonly planted. 



GINKGO, LinncBus 



THE MAIDENHAIR TREE 



Flowers dioecious ; males in umbellate pendulous spikes ; 

 females in terminal clusters or long pedicels. 



Fruit drupaceous, and enclosed at the base in a fleshy cup. 



Seeds erect, ovoid, and covered with a hard, bony shell. 



Leaves deciduous, stelked, fan-shaped, and furnished with 

 radiating nerves. 



Cotyledons two. 



A handsome, large-growing, deciduous tree, with fan-shaped 

 eaves that are either tufted on short spurs or scattered on 

 the longer growths. 



Ginkgo biloba, Linnceus. Maidenhair Tree. 

 (Synonym : SaHsburia adiantifolia. Smith.) 

 Northern China. 1754. — There are many beautiful 



