6 A MANUAL OF THE CONItfEBJ!. 



Following the rale observed in designating other Natural Orders, the 

 selecting of one of the contained genera as a type to which the others 

 may be referred, the name Pinacese has been used by some authors 

 in preference to Coniferae.* It may be observed, however, that it 

 the name Coniferae as applied to the Order, on account of the form of 

 the fruit borne by some of the most important species belonging to it, 

 is open to some objection, the mode of growth of by far the greater 

 number of the species, especially in their young state, is strictly that 

 of a Cone in outline. The German name, Nadelholzer, is expressive 

 as regards the Fir and Pine tribe and some others, but is scarcely 

 applicable to the whole Order. 



Structure of Coniferous Wood. — Microscopic investigations of the 

 tissues and minute parts of plants by men of science show, that 

 while the anatomical structure of Coniferous wood resembles that 

 of the broad-leaved (dicotyledonous) trees and shrubs in all essential 

 particulars, there are revealed in its organisation peculiarities not 

 found in the wood of trees belonging to any non-Gymnospermous 

 Order, and by which Coniferous wood may be distinguished from 

 every other kind. These peculiarities in structure also afford data 

 for the identification of Coniferous wood in the fossil state, and its 

 presence in that state in the coal strata proves, not only that it 

 enters into the composition of that important mineral, but also the 

 existence of a Coniferous vegetation at an early period in the 

 Earth's History. 1 ]" They will be best understood from an exami- 

 nation of the general structure of the stem of any one of our 

 native trees not Coniferous and comparing it- with that of one that 

 belongs to the Order. 



A small branch, the structure of which is identical with that of 

 the main stem or trunk, may be taken for examination, and one that 

 has completed at least three years' growth will be the best for the 

 purpose. A cross section of this shoidd be made with a sharp knife, 

 so that the surface made by the cut may be sufficiently smooth for 

 the markings that will be found on it to be distinctly seen. A very 



* Lindley Vegetable Kingdom, p. 226. Pinaoem, being a Handbook of the Firs and 

 Pmes, by "Senilis." 1866. 



t "That Coal is little else than mineralised vegetable matter is a point on which 

 there has been for a loDg time but small doubt. The more minute investigations of 

 recent years have not only placed this completely beyond question, but have also 

 enabled men of science to say what the plants were which contributed to the formation 

 of Coal, and in some cases even to decide what portions of the plants enter into 

 the composition." "Coal," by the Professors of the Yorkshire College, p 16- 



