TSUG.E, THE HEMLOCK FIKS. Ill 



very favoured spots ; it begins to grow early in spring, and its tender 

 shoots are invariably destroyed by frost later in the season. 



Abies religiosa is a native of various parts of Mexico, between 

 latitudes 15° and 20° N., but always at a very high elevation, and 

 in some places at the extreme verge of arborescent vegetation. It 

 was named religiosa by its discoverer, Humboldt, on account of its 

 extensive iise in the decoration of churches on particular occasions. 

 A. religiosa resembles A. bracteata in its tapering habit and massive 

 foliage, but the leaves are shorter, thinner, and lighter in colour. It 

 was introduced by Hartweg in 1838, but has proved too tender for the 

 climate of Great Britain. 



Abies sibirica. — A medium-sized tree, with the habit and general 

 appearance of A. pedinata, but " smaller in all its parts.'' It in- 

 habits Siberia, from the Ural Mountains to Kamtchatka, but is most 

 abundant on the Altai and other ranges of mountains that stretch 

 across the continent from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Ockhotsk, 

 forming vast forests at elevations of from 2,500 to 5,000 feet. 

 Although it is one of the hardiest of trees, its removal to the more 

 genial climate of Britain has not proved favourable to its develope- 

 ment. Its growth is slow, and it is often disfigured by late spring 

 frosts that destroy the young shoots which have started into growth 

 early in the season. 



Abies subalpina, according to Dr. Engelmann, is closely allied to 

 A. balsamea, of which it may be considered the western representative. 

 It extends from the higher mountains of Colorado northwards to Oregon 

 and into British Columbia, always scattered, and never alone forming 

 a forest. It is a larger tree than A. balsamea, attaining a height of 

 from 60 to 100 feet, with a diameter of 2 feet ; the leaves are like 

 those of A. balsamea ; the timber is poor and soft. Seeds have been 

 introduced under the name of A. grandis, and it is probably in culti- 

 vation under that name. It has also been recently introduced under 

 Dr. Engelmann's name. Its merits as a decorative tree have yet to 

 be proved. 



Section III. — TsuGie. The Hemlock Firs. 



The Hemlock Firs include five or six species cultivated in this 

 country solely for ornamental purposes. They are trees of graceful 

 habit, having slender flexible branchlets, which in some instances 

 are more or less pendulous. They are also further distinguished : — 



By their leaves, which are linear, flattened, imperfectly two- 



