f 



THE LAECH FAMILY. 83 



cones. It is a handsome but in no wise a striking or remarkable tree, which in all probabil- 

 ity will flourish in severe climates. It is only known on the high mountains of northern 

 Hondo and in one place on the shores of southern Yezo, where it was discovered during the 

 summer of 1892 by Mr. Tokubuchi. 



On the hills of central Yezo, Abies Sachalinensis is not rare, and in the northern part of 

 the island and on Saghalin this fine tree is said to form extensive forests. It is a tall pyram- 

 idal tree with pale bark, long slender dark green leaves, and white buds which make it pos- 

 sible to distinguish it readily from the other Japanese Firs. A curious form has been noticed 

 by Professor Miyabe, growing near Sapporo, with red bark, dark red wood, and red cone 

 bracts ; it grows with the common form and is probably merely a seminal variety, although 

 Professor Miyabe considers it specifically distinct and proposes to call it Abies Akatodo. We 

 were fortunate in securing a supply of seeds of the white and of the red barked varieties, and 

 the seedlings, perhaps, will show whether they should be considered distinct. Abies Sachali- 

 nensis produces wood of fair quality, which is used in Sapporo in building and for packing- 

 cases ; it has only a local consumption. The young plants of Abies Sachalinensis in our 

 gardens are perfectly hardy and grow more rapidly than those of any other species of Fir- 

 tree. 



Abies Veitchii, discovered many years ago on the slopes of Mount Fuji-san, we looked for 

 everywhere, and although it is said to grow among the Nikko Mountains, we saw nothing of 

 it there or elsewhere. From Abies homolepis, winch this species most resembles, it may be 

 distinguished by its shorter and more crowded leaves, its more slender pubescent shoots and 

 smaller cones. This tree is an old inhabitant of our gardens, having been sent many years 

 ago by Mr. Thomas Hogg to the Blushing Nurseries, where it was cultivated under the unpub- 

 lished name of Abies Japonica long before it was known in Europe. Of Dr. Mayr's Abies 

 umbellata, a species probably too near Abies homolepis, we saw nothing. 



The forests of Hondo contain at least one Larch, Larix leptolepis. It is a fine tree, sev- 

 enty or eighty feet tall, with pale green foliage and massive trunks covered with reddish 

 bark, and in habit not unlike the European species. The Japanese Larch is not rare at 

 elevations of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet in the central part of the island, although we saw it 

 nowhere growing in continuous forests, but always scattered in small groves, mixed with other 

 deciduous trees. Larix leptolepis was introduced into American gardens many years ago ; it 

 grows in this country with great rapidity, and the oldest trees here have for many years 

 produced abundant crops of seeds. The wood, like that of other Larch-trees, is hard, heavy, 

 and strong. The trees, however, are so difficult to reach that it is little used in Japan, except 

 for the timbers of mountain mines. 



Maximowicz describes a variety of this species, var. Murrayana (Larix Japonica, Murray), 

 which grows as a low shrub near the timber-line of Fuji-san ; and my companion, Mr. Cod- 

 man, made a special trip late in the autumn for the purpose of securing specimens and seeds 

 of this plant. In this he was successful, but his specimens gathered from plants but a 

 few feet high, growing at an elevation of 8,500 feet above the sea-level, differ from those 

 of the common arborescent form only in the smaller size of the cones and in the shorter 

 leaves. 



