THE CONIFERS 189 



tion the cone-scales would hinder seed distribution were 

 they to persist as in Picea, when the seeds are ready 

 they fall away to allow the seeds to be scattered without 

 let or hindrance. The remaining genera of the Abietineae, 

 Pinus, Cedrus, Larix, produce long and short shoots. 

 In Larix, represented by the Larch (Larix europcea), 

 the long shoots produce linear leaves on all sides and 

 continue the branching; the tree is not evergreen, for 

 the leaves fall off each year, and the short shoots arise 

 as tufts of thirty to forty linear leaves in the axils of the 

 leaves of the long shoots of the previous year. The 

 cone-scales persist after the seeds have been liberated. 

 In the Cedars (Cedrus) both long and short shoots bear 

 evergreen leaves, but the cone-scales fall away to admit 

 of distribution of the seeds. There are but three species 

 in this genus, the Cedar of Lebanon (0. Libani), found 

 in Asia Minor, the Atlas Cedar (C. atlantica), and the 

 Deodar (C. Deodara), which occurs in the Himalayas; 

 all three are cultivated as ornamental trees. In the 

 true Pines (Pinus) the leaves of the long shoots are 

 reduced to inconspicuous scales, while the short shoots, 

 arising in the axils of these scales, produce tufts of from 

 two to five evergreen leaves. The scales of the cones are 

 decidedly woody, and persist until after the seeds have 

 been liberated. The Scotch Pine (Plates X. and XL), 

 erroneously called a " Fir," with the botanical name of 

 Pinus sylvestris, is a good example of the genus. In 

 the seedlings of this tree the long shoots bear needle- 

 shaped leaves, but after a year or two's growth those 

 leaves give place to the scales which are characteristic 

 of the genus. The fact that green leaves occur on the 

 long shoots of seedlings indicates quite clearly that the 



