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76 it We sometimes hear complaints of 
onj e н їп 
lai: the monotonous appearance рге- 
sen 
ted by Conifers, They weary 
some people by their sameness ; to these folk the 
trees look alike all the year round, probably 
because, as an actual fact, they see them only at 
one season, and that not the season of growth. 
We venture to say that no class of hardy trees 
presents greater variation in colour, more lovely 
harmonies, or more striking contrasts than do 
the Conifers at this season. The young leaf- 
shoots vie with the catkins young cones in 
variety and beauty of tint. What more beautiful 
sight in its way is there just now than Parry's 
Spruce?* With the sun shining on it zi is like 
one sheet of molten silver. Look, agai 
lovely effects produced by the очы. male 
other considerations, who shall say the oppor- 
tunities they afford are not wasted? Such things 
were not made simply to be looked at, but to pro- 
mote knowledge and eU development in an 
endless diversity of ections, as well as to 
stimulate wonder, reverence, gratitude. 
The lifé-iatory of these Conifers is as wonder- 
ful as their beauty is striking, and their utility 
paramount. It is to this point of view that we 
desire at present to allude. The more we kno 
of the structure and life-history of any plant the 
fuller will be our enjoyment of it, the greater 
will be ge advantage that we shall derive from 
it. is true even from a sternly practical 
int of view. It is on the progress of know- 
ledge that the great advances in all practical arts 
depend. The great discoveries, the things that 
change the face of the civilised world, and, prac- 
tically speaking, annihilate time and space, were 
the direct results of scientific as contrasted with 
mere utilitarian research. he latter at its best 
is mechanical and restricted, the former is creative 
and illimitable. To descend to particulars. Horti- 
culturists of all degrees and kinds have it in their 
power greatly to extend the amount of know- 
edge if they would only record their Dose visant. 
There is not a subject-that comes before us i 
daily practice that does not afford табеті for 
useful observation, the record of which would fill 
up some gap in our knowledge. 
Adverting again to the Conifers, it has been 
pointed out to us particularly by German sub- 
scribers, that the descriptions and illustrations of 
these plants, given in our last year’s volumes, an 
in those which preceded it, were defective, more 
particularly as regards the male catkins. No doubt 
this was so in some cases, though not from any 
fault of ours, as, whenever the opportunity has 
presented itself, we have figured the catkins, as 
indeed all other organs that were available, 
Still we allude to the matter, because many of 
correspondents have it in their power to 
supply these deficiencies. In the commoner and 
better known species, there is, of course, no lack 
of evidence, but in many of the rarer kinds the 
full organisation is not known, and speci 
— 
not say much concerning this noble tree, the 
Sugar Pine of California, as it formed the subject 
of an illustrated article in these columns by Sir 
JosePH Ноокев, January 3, 1885, p. 11, where 
that eminent botanist recorded his impression of 
the tree as he saw it in the wild state. 
e speci ial point on which our text books are 
deficient is in particulars relating to the early 
development and mode of growth of the buds, 
shoots, and catkins. Моге recondite micro- 
scopical details, though of cardinal importance, 
do not come within our scope, as they must of 
necessity be relegated to specialists and strictly 
botanical journals. The object of our inquiry 
into the matters above-named is, from a practical 
standpoint, to provide means for the more ready 
determination of the species, and from a scien- 
tific point of view to ascertain the value of cer- 
tain “ characters” or points of distinction as to 
their constancy and their significance, as afford- 
ing a clue to the ancestry and pedigree of the 
trees. At the same time these details relating 
to the structure and course of action of the 
plant and its parts, must to a certainty lead to 
the unfolding of information useful to the cul- 
tivator, who will thus he the way in which 
the tree is the on under 
which it grows. 
porary ak might be considered at first as re- 
latively un 
the primordial leaves or those which precede the 
perfect foliage, lends them an additional value 
from the point of view of constancy. Serving only 
a temporary purpose, to be discarded when that is 
fulfilled, they are less likely to vary than other 
more enduring organs would be, and therefore 
they afford a better clue to the original ancestral 
condition than do others which have necessaril 
been subjected to more varying conditions, 
intrinsic or extrinsic 
In the accotnpasiying woodcut the bud is not 
shown, but it is slender, cylindric, ending in a 
dome-shaped top with a short central point. The 
scales are lance-shaped, acuminate, chestnut- 
brown, papery, and more or less covered with 
resin, Another point to notice is the length of 
the lower part of the shoot uncovered with leaves, 
or with only primordial leaves. This is very 
characteristic of certain Pines, and while it 
indicates rapidity of growth, it foreshadows 
the ultimate habit and aspect of the tree, and 
affords a hint to the cultivator as to the possi- 
bility of its being © spring tender ”—a condition 
the possibility of which is also indicated by the 
relatively thin bud-scales, and therefore requiring 
a sheltered position. 
Another point illustrated in our drawing is 
the relatively late period at which the leaves, of 
which there are five in each tuft, diverge one 
from the other. In Pines there are great diver- 
n: in this particular, some leaves spread 
y almost а the first, while others, as іп 
this in close contact for a rela- 
tively long dinde. The leaves are triangular in 
section, and have a ring of resin canals just 
beneath the skin. 
The points to notice in the catkins and cones 
are their position, arrangement, form, size, and 
colour. In the present instance the males are of 
a rich orange colour, while the young female is 
а be eas 
matters of interes 
the living tree in due season, and 
erefore, the attention of foresters and gar- 
deners should be specially directed. 
YUCCA BREVIFOLIA. — The singular tree-like 
shown i in our illustration (fig. ге is referable 
Sout California, 
laces, sometimes in such = Ате 
st ling forests. 'The plant attains a hei 
у те i memet 
15—30 feet, with a trunk 1—2 
much branched at the top. The rigid leaves 
12—18 inches in length. à 
flowers are borne in dense panicles. e pue 
fully described in Warsow's Botany of California, 
vol. ii, p. 164. The explanation of the singular 
arch seems to be that the top has proved too 
for the trunk, and it has gradually fallen over to one 
side until it has returned to the plain and vs 
imbedded in the sand, when it has either taken ^an 
or is held down by stones, &c., the trunk k^ ۰ 
strong to break and the rooting too secure to let £o 
its ott and the result is that apris Ree assumeda? ; 
— í illustration is fro a photograph of 
тее growi nthe Mojave Desert, 
aa for- gets iri are indebted to M. Joly: ^ 
