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large forests on the Sierra Nevada at elevations from four to six 
thousand feet. In exposed situations it has proved tender here 
at the Garden, and for this reason its inclusion in the regular 
collection of firs has been abandoned. In sheltered es 
among groups of other plants, it has done well, but is always 
of slow growth. In the decorative beds at the northwest of the 
conservatories, range I, are a number of specimens. In some 
cases these have come through almost without a blemish, while 
others, with apparently the same exposure and conditions, 
have been killed outright. Abies sibirica, always unstable an 
burning badly, is no exception this year, most plants being killed. 
Abies umbellaia, of Japan, is reliable, coming through the winter 
without a blemish. This species is intermediate between A. 
homolepis and A. firma, our plants resembling very much the 
former and are perhaps a form of it. Abies Veitchti, also of 
Japan, is fine, whether in groups or in exposed situations. 
The spruces, Picea, occupy a place in the pinetum near the 
firs, the slope being more to the north. The following species 
are in the pinetum: Picea Abies (P. excelsa), P. ajanensis, P. 
canadensis (P. alba), P. Engelmannii, P. Mariana (P. brevifolia), 
P. Maximowiczii, P. obovata, P. Omorika, P. orientalis, P. polita, 
P. pungens and var. glauca, and P. rubens. Of these the tiger-tail 
spruce, P. polita, and the Colorado blue spruce, P. pungens, and 
its variety glauca, stood out conspicuously on account of their 
hardiness. They came through the winter unharmed. P. Engel- 
mannii, while an excellent conifer for this latitude, is not quite 
as hardy as P. pungens, nor does it present the sturdy vigorous 
habit of that species. P. obovata is apparently a little hardier 
than P. Abies. P. Maximowicziit and P. canadensis have proved 
satisfactory. P. Abies, P. ajanensis, P. Omortka, and P. orientalis 
indicated dissatisfaction by dropping part of their leaves. In 
most cases this damage will be repaired by the development of the 
leaf-buds, but some plants of P. orientalis and P. Abies were 
so badly damaged that their recovery is impossible 
The genus Chamaecyparis, including also Retinispora, has 
proved very unstable. e American forms of this in cultivation 
here are: C. Lawsoniana and its variety Alumi, C. Nootkatensis 
