V-] 



CONIFERS. BOX, 



107 



ledons, such as the Beech, Oak, &c. The leaves of 

 the Scotch Pine (Pinus sylvestris] are needle -like, 

 i^ inch in length and -Jg- in diameter. They are 

 arranged in pairs, each pair enclosed at the base in a 

 sheath. One inch of stem bears about fifteen pairs 

 of leaves. Given this number of leaves in such a 

 space, they must evidently be long and narrow. If I 



FIG. 65. Yew. 



FIG. 66. Box. 



am asked why they are longer than those of the Yew, 

 1 would suggest that the stem, being thicker, is able 

 to support more weight. In confirmation of this, we 

 may take for comparison the Weymouth Pine, in 

 which the leaves are much longer and the stalk 

 thicker. 



Fig. 66 represents a sprig of Box. It will be 

 observed that the increase of width in the leaves 



