318 Floriculiural and Botanical Notices. 



at their hands would have been to be allowed to go and in- 

 spect this noble Pine. 



" The Chinese guard, however, had not the slightest in- 

 tention of interfering with my movements, and, as the tree 

 was on the roadside, I soon came up to it, and found it to be 

 the Japan Cedar, (Cryptomeria japonica,) a tree which I had 

 already introduced into England, and which, even in a young 

 state, had been greatly admired there. I had never before 

 seen such a noble specimen, and, although I would rather it 

 had been something new, I yet felt proud of having been 

 the means of introducing into Europe a tree of such size, 

 symmetry, and beauty. It was at least 120 feet in height, — 

 it might be much more, — as straight as a larch, and had its 

 lower branches drooping to the ground. It had not been 

 'lopped,' like other Chinese trees, and was evidently preserved 

 with great care. My Chinamen looked upon it with great 

 admkation, and informed me it was the only specimen of the 

 kind in this part of the country, and that it had been planted 

 by some former emperor when he crossed the mountains." 



Cunninghamia lanceolata would seem to be a much finer 

 thing than in this country it is believed to be : — 



" The sides of the mountains here were clothed with dense 

 woods of the lance-leaved Pine, (Cunninghamia lanceolata.) 

 This was the first time I had seen this Fir tree of sufficient 

 size to render it of value for its timber. Many of the speci- 

 mens were at least 80 feet in height, and perfectly straight. 

 There was a richness too in the appearance of its foliage 

 which I had never seen before ; sometimes it was of a deep 

 green color, while at others it was of a bluish tint. There 

 are, doubtless, many varieties of this tree amongst these hills." 



But we must close our extracts from Mr. Fortune's book. 

 Upon the main object of it, namely, the character of the Tea 

 countries of China, and the Tea plantations of India, and 

 upon the able manner in which the author executed a delicate 

 and somewhat dangerous task, we shall have something to 

 say next week. 



New French Verbenas. — The French cultivators excel the 

 English in the production of new verbenas. Reine du Jour, 



