228 



PINACEtE. 



[ Q YMNOGENS. 



CLVI. 



Conifers arc broken up by many modern botanists into 2 Orders, Abictcae and Cu- 

 pressese, the distinctive characters of which are given below. But I regard the cones as 

 the true mark of Conifers, and consequently, such groups as mere divisions of the same 

 Natural Order. Recently, Mr. Bennett has given the weight of his authority in favour 

 of the separation of the two groups, relying upon the pollen of Abietese having a curved 



oval form, dark granu- 

 lar extremities, and an" 



intermediate band ; 



while CupressesB have 



spheroidal grains 



whose outer coats are 



ruptured and thrown 



off, in consequence of 



the great capacity for 



absorbing moisture 

 possessed by the mucous matter surrounding 

 the inner coat. But however beautiful this 

 distinction may be in theory, it is by no 

 means clear that it is of value in practice. 

 Indeed, Mr. Bennett admits, that " it is not 

 always a safe criterion in systematic ar- 

 rangement ;" and a comparison of his own 

 statements with those of Mold and others 

 does not increase confidence in its import- 

 ance. I, however, admit two well-defined 

 groups, one of which lias the ovules inverted 

 and the others erect. 



Natives of various parts of the world, from 

 the perpetual snows and inclement climate 

 of arctic America, to the hottest regions of ^ 

 the Indian Archipelago. The principal part 

 of the Order is found in temperate countries ; 

 in Europe, Siberia, China, and the temperate 

 parts of North America, the species are ex- 

 ceedingly abundant, and have an aspect very 

 different from that of the southern hemisphere. In the former we have various species 

 of Pines, the Larch, the Cedar, Spruce, and Juniper ; the place of which is supplied in 

 the latter by Araucarias, Podocarps, Dammars, Eutassas and Dacryds. A Callitris 

 (quadrivalvis) is found on Atlas, and a true Araucaria (Bidwillii) in New Holland. In 

 New Zealand the Dacryds are sometimes no bigger than Mosses. 



No Order can be aamed of more universal importance to mankind than this, whether 

 we view it with reference to its timber or its secretions. Gigantic in size, rapid in 

 growth, noble in aspect, robust in constitution, these trees form a considerable propor- 

 tion of woods or plantations hi cultivated countries, and of forests where nature remains 

 in temperate countries in a savage state. Their timber, in commerce, is known under 

 the names of Deal, Fir, Pine, and Cedar, and is principally the wood of the Spruce, the 

 Larch, the Scotch Fir, the Weymouth Pine, and the Virginian Cedar : but others are of 

 at least equal, if not greater value. Pinus palustris is the Virginian Pine, so largely 

 employed in the navy for masts. The Stone Pine, and Pinus halepensis (irevKr), Diosc.) 

 ai'e extensively used by the Greeks in ship-building. The gates of Constantinople, famous 

 for having stood from the time of Constantino to that of Pope Eugene IV., a period of 1 1 00 

 years, were of Cypress. The wood of Juniperus oxycedrus is supposed to have been that 

 from which the images of their gods were carved by the Greeks ; and finally, the Deodar 

 wood of India is all but imperishable. The Norfolk Island Pine is an immense tree, known 

 to botanists as Eutassa (Araucaria) excelsa ; the Huon Pine of Tasmannia is Micro 

 cachrvs tetragona ; the Kawric Tree of New Zealand, or Dammara australis, attains the 

 height of 200 feet, and yields an invaluable light compact wood, free from knots, from 

 which the finest masts in the navy arc now prepared. But they are both surpassed by 

 the stupendous Pines of north-west America, one of which, P. Lambertiana, is reported 

 to attain the height of "2;'>0 feet, and the other, Abies Douglash, to equal or even to 

 exceed it. The latter is probably the most valuable of the whole for its timber. Their 

 secretions consist of various kinds of resinous matter. Oil of turpentine, common and 

 Burgundy pitch, are obtained from Pinus sylvestris ; Hungarian balsam from Pinus 



Fig. CLVI. — Pollen of, 1. Juniperus virginiana; 2. Pinus sylvestris. 



Pig. CLV1I. — Cupressus sempervirens ; 1. a scale of a male cone with pollen ; 2. a scale of a female 

 cone with naked ovules ; 3. a ripe cone ; 4. the same with one of the scales removed. 



CLVII. 



