398 



CO.XIFER^E, 



a blunt hook or prickle, and again, in others, it is almost 

 smooth or with the summit depressed and sunk. At the 

 base of each scale and close to the axis of the cone two 

 seeds or nuts are lodged, each with a large membran- 

 aceous wing, which encircles, but is not directly attached 

 to, them. From these nuts the young plant appears in 

 the shape of a slender stem, with from five to six linear 

 leaves or cotyledons. 



In trees which have had sufficient space from an early 

 age the trunk is generally furnished with branches from 

 within a short distance of the ground ; but in forests, or 

 when grown in thick masses, the lower branches decay 

 and fall off, in consequence of the want of room and air, 

 and a clean naked trunk, of great length, is the result. 

 The branches, as may be supposed from the disposition 

 of the buds, are in whorls ; when young they turn slightly 



