THE PIXE SUB-FAMILY. 151 



sheaths, rigid, twisted, slightly flexuose, convex on the 

 outer side, concave on the inner, slightly serrulate on the 

 margin, straight, acute, glaucous-green color. Cones, 

 from 1 to 1^ inches long, sub-conical, incurved, solitary, 

 and numerous ; with small, oblong, woody, closely imbri- 

 cated scales, surmounted by small, very deciduous prick- 

 les. Seeds, very small, sub-rhomboidal, chestnut-colored ; 

 with short, membranaceous, cultriform, striped wings. 

 Cotyledons, 6. 



There appears to have been much confusion in classify- 

 ing this species, as London, Don, and Gordon, all placed 

 it as a synonym of P. Pinaster ; but Murray very clearly 

 explains its true and distinct specific character, and gives 

 many interesting incidents in connection with its growth 

 and history principally from observations made by Siebold, 

 and from which we condense the following remarks. 



This tree is usually from 40 to 50 feet high, be- 

 coming a small shrub at high elevations, although isolated 

 specimens are occasionally found in a wild state growing 



to a gigantic size. 



~ ~ 



Along the sea-coast, they are often found much twisted 

 and deformed, owing to their exposure to hurricanes. Of 

 all the Conifers it is the most widely distributed in Japan, 

 not only growing wild, but also in the cultivated grounds. 

 The Japanese display great tact and ingenuity in the cul- 

 tivation of this pine, and trim it into almost every 

 conceivable form. 



Siebold mentions a visit he paid to the celebrated tree 

 called Theehaus Nuniwaga, the branches of which arti- 

 ficially extended over a circuit of 135 paces; on the other 

 hand, they showed him at Jeddo a dwarf tree planted in 

 a lacquered box, of which the branches did not occupy 

 more than two square inches. Siebold likewise mentions 

 that he saw dwarf trees, on which were united by graft- 

 ing the greater part of the species and varieties of pine 

 cultivated in Japan. There are a large number of curious 

 varieties of the P. Massoniana in cultivation by the 





