THE LARCH. 



303 



having an ovary round them. By the middle of May the scales 

 have stiffened and the young cone appears red-green in colour, about 

 an inch long, and surrounded at the base by a fringe of leaves. 

 Later on the scales grow woody and brown, but are always dis- 

 tinguishable from those of the Scotch Fir by their being apart, 

 instead of pressed closely together, while they are not thickened at the 

 tip. The scales separate so as to let the seed fall out, but the 

 empty cones remain on the tree for years. The cones mature in the 

 course of one season. 



The cones of Larches and Firs sometimes bear at their apex a 

 shoot furnished with ordinary leaves. The leaves grow singly, not 

 in tufts, but this is a common occurrence on long new shoots, and 

 an illustration of it will be found in another drawing ; also Fir and 



