LXXVII. CONI'FEILE: PI V NUS. 



997 



1867. P. longifolia. 



rated. Cone (see fig. 1868.) from 

 5 in. to 5i in. long, and 2 in. to 

 2f in. broad ; scale, according to 

 Mr. Lambert's plate (see Jig. 1867.), 

 from l^in. to 2 in. in length. Seed, 

 without the wing, i in. long ; with 

 the wing, If in. Cotyledons, ac- 

 cording to Lawson, about 12. A 

 large tree. Himalayas. Introduced 

 in 1807, and requiring protection 

 in England. 



P. longifolia is a native of Nepal, 

 on the mountains ; and also of the 

 lower and warmer parts of India, 

 where the tree is cultivated on ac- 

 count of its beautiful foliage an. I 

 graceful habit of growth, but where it 

 never attains the same magnitude as 

 on the Himalayan Mountains. It was 

 introduced into Britain in 1801, and for a long time was treated as a green- 

 house plant ; it is now 

 found to stand the open 

 air, but not without 

 protection during win- 

 ter. The largest tree 

 in England is believed 

 to be that at Drop- 

 more. It was, in 1837, 

 nearly 12ft. high ; but 

 it is covered every win- 

 ter with a portable roof 

 of fern, enclosed in 

 mats, and supported by 

 a wooden frame ; the 

 sides being closed in 

 with the same mate- 

 rials, but with two 

 doors opposite each 

 other, to open on fine 

 days, to promote ven- 

 tilation. Mr. Lawson 

 suggests that the ten- 

 derness which is appa- 

 rent in some individuals 

 of this species may 

 possibly arise from the 

 seed from which they 

 were raised having been 

 produced by trees grow- 

 ing in the warm valleys 

 of Nepal ; and that, 

 " by procuring seed 

 from trees at the high- 

 est elevation at which 

 they are found to exist, 

 plants might be raised 

 sufficiently hardy to 

 stand the climate of 

 Britain." 



1868. P. lonsif&lia. 



3s 3 



