CONIIfEE^, OR CONE-BEAEING TBEES. 349 



Taxodinm distichnm, Richard. — Deciduous Cypress, Bald Cy- 

 press, etc., etc. — ^Leaves from one half to three-quarters of an 

 inch long, linear, acute, flat, alternate or opposite, occasionally 

 in whorls. Cones an inch in diameter, round, closed, hard, and 

 rough, with thick woody scales. Seeds small, hard, with nar- 

 row wings. While this is a strictly Southern tree, it thrives in 

 all of the Middle, and many of the Northern States. In the 

 alluvial bottom lands of the South, it grows to a hight of one 

 hundred and fifty feet, with a stem ten tD twelve feet in diame- 

 ter. Wood reddish, strong, light, easUy split and worked, 

 extensively used for shingles, railway ties and other purposes. 

 It is a rapid growing tree even in our Northern States, and a 

 number of years ago I raised several thousand for stakes, com- 

 mencing to thin out the young trees when five or six feet high, 

 and I found that it was cheaper to raise stakes on my own 

 grounds than to purchase and haul them ten or twenty nules. 

 This tree deserves more attention from those who are cultivat- 

 ing forest trees than it has ever received. It is a very hardy 

 tree in my grounds, and grows quite rapidly, even in a dry, 

 sandy soil. ' 



There are several ornamental varieties in cultivation, one of a 

 dwarf habit, and another having a very decided pyramidal- 

 shaped top. A Mexican variety differs from the species in hav- 

 ing very long persistent leaves, and somewhat larger cones, 

 with the scales armed with a short, stout point. 



Before leaving this genus of deciduous conifers, I must refer 

 to another which is so closely allied that several of our botani- 

 cal authorities have placed the species among the true Taxo- 

 diums, and classed them under this generic name. I refer to 

 the Qlyptostrobus, a genus containing at most two species, both 

 inhabiting the colder parts of China and Japan. The O. hetero- 

 phyllus, Bndl., is a tree with very small leaves, quite variable 

 in form, scattered all around the branchlets, and of a glaucous- 

 green color. It is only a small tree with ascending branches 

 recurved at the extremities. The other species is known as the 

 "Weeping Deciduous Cypress" (G. pendulus, Endl.) It has 

 very slender branchlets, drooping, curved or twisted, and the 

 leaves are long, slender and compressed when young, but 

 ■ spreading at maturity. A hardy and beautiful rapid growing 

 tree, although it probably never reaches a very large size. 



