334 THE BOOK OF EVERGREENS. 



seedlings. In our opinion, it is the most distinct and 

 beautiful of the variegated Conifers. The rich golden yel- 

 low is so exquisitely shaded and mellowed down to pure 

 white, and again so prettily tipped with pink, as to cause 

 the most inveterate hater of these oddities to respect it. 

 If, however, as Dr. Siebold asserts, they are but the result 

 of disease, will they not be less hardy and reliable than 

 when in their normal condition? Practice certainly, in 

 many instances, refutes this theory, for we very frequently 

 find the variegated forms even more hardy than the par- 

 ent in its perfect state. A case in point is this variety, 

 for it has proven itself to be less liable to injury from ex-- 

 cessive cold weather or sudden changes than the species. 

 It also stands our hot summers remarkably well. We 

 also find the variegated Yews to be more hardy than 

 their parent. 



Var. argentea 9 Sort. We consider this variety as un- 

 worthy of cultivation, the young shoots and leaves being 

 merely tipped with white, which is scarcely discernible at 

 maturity. 



Var. gracilis, Carriere. Syn. B. Nepalensis, JEndlicher. 

 This is readily distinguished from the species by its deli- 

 cate small foliage and light green color ; the former has 

 also slender and graceful branches, and is more dense in 

 character. It is a native of the higher portions of India 

 and Nepal. It appears quite hardy here, and is much ad- 

 mired by our cultivators generally. 



Var. pyramidalis, Endlicher. Syn. var. strict a, London, 

 &c. Although somewhat resembling the var. Tartarica in 

 its form, it is nevertheless distinct. It is very fastigiate 

 in growth, and assumes the proportions of a medium-sized 

 tree, closely resembling at a distance the upright form of 

 a Cypress. It is more rapid in growth, and larger in 

 branch and foliage than the species. 



Var. flagelliformis, Jacques. WEEPING ARBOR 



