218 THE BOOK OF EVERGREENS. 



The timber of A. Webbiana, according to some writers, 

 is coarse-grained, but soft and white, and abounds in a 

 clear, light-colored resin. 



NEW SPECIES OF FIRS. 



38. A. Fortunj, Murray FORTUNE'S SILVER FIR. 

 Syn. A. Jezoensis, Linwey, Carriere, Gordon, etc. 

 Leaves, from 6 to 12 lines in length, from f to 1 line 

 in~ diameter, not very closely appressed, distichous, 

 solitary, sessile, terminating in a strong point, very bril- 

 liant green on both sides. Cones, from 6 to 8 inches long, 

 rather ''straight, obtusely rounded at each end, short-pe- 

 duncled, numerous, erect, bluish-purple when young, brown 

 with a purplish bloom when old ; scales, large, convex, 

 pedicillate, dull, tomentose ; bracts, narrow, slender, 

 rather more than one-half the length of the scale, with a 

 tooth at the apex, purplish-brown color. Seeds, long, nar- 

 row, angular, wedge-shaped, fawn-colored, and terminating 

 in a narrow point, with a large wing. 



This rare species, described by Gordon, and others, 

 as the A. Jezoensis, is very distinct from the latter in many 

 prominent particulars ; and as the two have been con- 

 founded, Murray, in an interesting description, points out 

 the difference, and bestows the name of Picea Fortuni 

 on this, which is the A. Jezoensis of Lindley and later 

 authors, but not the A. Jezoensis of Siebold and Zuccarini. 



"It was at Foo-chow-foo that Mr. Fortune found it. A 

 single tree in the grounds of a famous temple, named Koo- 

 shan, there struck his attention. It was an aged Fir, 

 stretching out its branches in a tabulated form, like a 

 Cedar of Lebanon, and on these were growing the mag- 

 nificent cones, which he figured, standing erect and 

 thickly grouped, like rows of soldiers. It was the only 

 tree of the kind which he saw, and from it he obtained the 



