50 HARDY CONIFEROUS TREES. 



which is tilted over gracefully, and with the drooping side 

 shoots form the chief characteristic of the species. The leaves 

 are whorled, usually in fours, deep grass-green above, and 

 with a silvery glaucous tint beneath. The cones produced in 

 this country are small globose bodies, consisting of about 

 three rows of whorled scales. The largest specimen I have 

 seen is growing in a sheltered site on a quickly-sloping bank 

 on the Churchill estate, County Armagh, Ireland ; but there 

 are many fine examples in this country from Gordon Castle, 

 Banffshire, southwards. The soil in which the Irish tree is 

 growing is loamy peat, and plenty of quickly passing away 

 moisture is always provided. This specimen, with its long 

 whip-cord-like branch tips, is decidedly ornamental, and 

 makes one wish that the species was more commonly 

 planted. 



GINKGO (Linn^us). 



Flowers dioecious ; males in umbellate pendulous spikes ; 

 females in terminal clusters or long pedicels. 



Fmit drupaceous, and enclosed at the base in a fleshy 

 cup. 



Seeds erect, ovoid, and covered with a hard, bony shell. 



Leaves deciduous, stalked, fan-shaped, and covered with 

 radiating nerves. 



Cotyledons two. 



A handsome, large-growing, deciduous tree, with fan-shaped 

 leaves that are either tufted on short spurs or scattered on 

 the longer growths. 



GinkgfO biloba, Linnceus. Maidenhair Tree. {Synonym-. 

 Salisburia adiantifolia, Smith.) Northern China. 1754. 

 There are many beautiful specimens of this tree in almost 

 every part of the British Isles, thus showing its general 

 adaptability for the climate of this country. The glossy 

 green, fan-shaped leaves, cut up like some of the species of 

 Adiantum, impart to this noble tree a distinct and remarkable 



