68 



CONIFERS. 



So much confusion exists among our nursery- 

 men and foresters with respect to the Order of 

 Conifers, that the authorised Hst from Kew was 

 much needed. As Sir Joseph Hoolver remarks, 

 " British cultivators alone persist in referring the 

 " Silver Firs to Picea, and the Spruces to Abies, a 

 " practice long abandoned on the Continent, 

 " and which has not been adopted in America. 

 " Throughout North America, which is the hcad- 

 " quarters of all three genera, a Pine is never 

 " called a Fir, nor a Fir a Spruce, nor a Spruce a 

 " Pine." 



Several members of the Pine and Silver Fir 

 tribes, which are met with in favoured situations 

 in this country, are not noticed in the following 

 pages. As with the deciduous trees, our subjects 

 are confined to those in general cultivation in 

 Great Britain. 



