THE TRUE CYPRESSES. 83 



four-rowed, clasping the stem at the base, acute-pointed, rather 

 three-sided, of a greenish-gray colour, keeled at the hack, and 

 thickly set on the brauchlets. Branches spreading, forked, 

 loose, scattered, horizontal, curved upwards, and pendulous at 

 the ends ; smaller ones long, slender, pendulous, lateral ones 

 alternate, forked, and spreading. Branchlets two-edged, leafy, 

 and rather fiat. Cones globose, solitary, on short imbricated 

 foot-stalks, and, when full grown, about half an inch in dia- 

 meter, and of a brown colour. Scales seven or eight in num- 

 ber, shield-shaped, four or five sided, and uneven round the 

 margins, terminated with a round, blunt point, half sunk in the 

 centre. Seeds angular, surrounded by pale yellow membra- 

 nous wings. 



It is, when old, a most graceful tree, with a straight stem, 

 and long, drooping branches, attaining a height of 60 feet ; but 

 when young it has quite an opposite character, being rigid, 

 pyramidal, and quite a compact bush, full of simple, long, 

 lance-shaped leaves, distant and spreading, very glaucous, and 

 not in the least imbricated ; but afterwards it assumes, as it 

 gets older, very much the appearance of the Indian Cypress 

 (Cupressus torulosa), which also becomes quite weeping, when 

 old, on the hills of India. 



It was first introduced into England by Fortune, from the 

 celebrated tea country, " Wheychou," in the north of China, 

 and who describes it as having the branches growing at first 

 horizontal from the main stem, then describing a graceful curve 

 upwards, and drooping again at the points. 



The Chinese name is " Tsain-sung " (common drooping), and 

 the Manchurian one, " Saksin." 



No. 7. CuPEESSUS GovENiANA, OordoTi, Mr. Gowen's 

 Califomian Cypress, 



Leaves imbricated, blunt, thickly set in four rows, and bright 

 grass-green on the old plants, expanded, awl-shaped, very dis- 

 tant, more or less reflexed, sharp-pointed, and rather slender 

 on the young plants. Branches very irregular on the main 

 G 2 



