THE PINE AND FIR FAMILY. 259 



The fertilisation of Taxus and Cupressus is very interesting. 

 It appears that a drop of clear mucilage is exuded from the 

 orifice at the top of the ovule or young seed of these plants. 

 The pollen-grains fall on to this mucilage, which retains them, 

 and both mucilage and pollen -tubes are absorbed into the 

 interior of the ovule. According to M. A. de Candolle, 

 Vaucher long since pointed out this fact ; and his ' Histoire 

 Physiologique des Plantes d'Europe' contains much valuable 

 information of peculiar interest to the intelligent propagator 

 and hybridiser. 



The Red Cedar (jfuniperus virgmiana] has several times 

 been observed to have fertilised the female organs of the 

 American Arborvitae (.Thuja occidentalis), the issue from 

 which is that curious whipcord-branched plant called in gardens 

 Thuja filiformis. This hybrid was produced for the first time 

 accidentally in Messrs Loddige's nursery at Hackney, and has 

 since been raised in a similar manner in French gardens (see 

 'Card. Chron.,' 1844, P- 587). 



Herbert remarks : " There is every reason to believe that 

 Thuja and Cupressus have bred together ; and those who look 

 to the small difference between them will become satisfied that 

 they form two sections of one genus." Retinosporas come 

 mostly from Japan ; but one or two of them, or what pass for 

 such, are known to have originated from seed of the American 

 Arborvitae. M. Carriere, in the ' Revue Horticole,' after a long 

 study of them, comes to the conclusion that all the species of 

 Retinospora fall into two series, and have been derived one 

 set from the American Arborvitae, the other from the Chinese 

 or Japanese Arborvitae (Biota orientalis), 



The Fir-trees belong to a well-known family of graceful-hab- 

 ited Conifers, very valuable in ornamental or landscape garden- 

 ing, and useful as timber-trees, and as the source of turpentine 

 in all its forms. All the kinds of Abies are best propagated by 

 means of seed. The fully-matured cones should be gathered 

 during the winter season, and exposed either to sun-heat or to 

 the gentle warmth of an oven or kiln this treatment being 

 requisite in order to readily separate the seeds from the cones. 

 The Firs give out their seeds very easily and quickly much 

 more readily than the Cluster and Stone Pines, which require 

 the gentle application of heat for several weeks, or even months, 

 ere their seeds can be separated from the close-scaled cones. 

 The method of extracting the seeds from Cedar and other Coni- 

 fer cones by splitting is tedious, and often injurious to the seeds. 

 M. Delepine, of Angers, states that the plan he adopts is much 

 simpler and better. About February the cones are buried at a 



