ii8 CONIFEROUS TREES 



pronounced silvery tinted leafage is the main char- 

 acteristic for which this variety is so justly remark- 

 able. 



P. PUNGENS GLAUCA differs only in the rigid, 

 sharp-pointed foliage being of a beautiful, bluish 

 grey tint. It is a highly interesting and choice 

 variety, and being very hardy and free of growth, 

 can be recommended for planting where less hardy 

 conifers would not exist. 



P. siTCHENSis, Trautvetter, Sitka Spruce. 

 (Synonyms : Abies Menziesii, Lindley ; Pinus 

 sitchensis, Bongard ; P. Menziesii, Douglas ; Abies 

 sitchensis, Lindley et Gordon.) Alaska to Cali- 

 fornia. 1831. — Planted in cool, moist loam and 

 not subjected to long-continued cold winds, this 

 valuable conifer thrives well ; whereas when the 

 soil is light and warm the foliage usually becomes 

 meagre in appearance, affected by red spider, and 

 almost semi-deciduous. When well grown, the 

 appearance of the tree is both distinct and desir- 

 able, the stiff and rather irregularly disposed 

 branches being thickly beset with vivid bluish 

 green foliage. Individually the leaves are remark- 

 ably stiff and sharp-pointed, bluish grey above, 

 with two silvery hues on the under side. When 

 ripe, the cones are russety brown, nearly cylind- 

 rical, 3 inches long by i inch diameter, and invari- 

 ably bent or curved. The male catkins are pendul- 

 ous, and plentifully produced about the first week 

 of April, when they impart a most interesting and 

 beautiful appearance to the trees on which they 

 are borne in quantity. The timber produced in 

 this country has, perhaps, no special claims to 

 distinction though of good quality and fairly 



