176 A MANUAL OF THE CONIFEE.E. 



The young specimens growing in British gardens under the name of 

 Pinus aridata, are . somewhat different from those regarded as the true 

 P. Balfouriana. They are more robust and of more rapid growth, the 

 leaves are longer, stouter, duller in colour, and much less glaucous on 

 the inner faces. The merits- of P. Balfouriana, as a decorative tree 

 in this country, have yet to be proved, 



Pinus Oembra. — A tall tree of elongated pyramidal outline, and 

 with short crooked branches and deep green foliage. On the slopes 

 of the Alps, it frequently attains a height of 100 feet, but in England 

 it rarely exceeds half that dimension. It is regularly furnished with 

 branches from the base to the summit, and with abundance of foliage, 

 " presenting to the eye a multiplicity of tufts of leaves, piled up one 

 above the other." The leaves are from 3 to 5 inches long, rather 

 rigid, three-angled, with rough edges, and marked with silvery lines. 

 The cones are oval, from 2 to 3 inches long, with smooth scales, 

 terminating in a broad obtuse umbo, each scale enclosing two wingless 

 seeds which are about half an inch long and edible. 



Habitat.— Central Europe and northern Asia ; on the Alps at eleva- 

 tions between 4,000 and 6,000 feet ; on the Carpathian and Ural 

 Mountains, and generally through the forest region of Siberia as far 

 as Kamtchatka, the Kurile Islands, and Jesso. 



Introduced into England about 1746. 



Pinus Oembra pumila. — A dwarf, stunted bush, from 2 to 4 

 feet high, often assuming a creeping habit. The leaves are crowded, 

 shorter than those of the species, from 1£ to 2 inches long and very 

 silvery. The cones are small, about 1J inches long, and 1 inch in 

 diameter. It is a native of eastern Siberia and Jesso. 



The economic value of Pinus Centra is very considerable in the 

 alpine regions where it is native ; the wood is white, soft, and fine 

 in grain ; it has also an agreeable fragrance, which is at the same 

 time obnoxious to insects j it is used chiefly in indoor carpentry, for 

 wainscotting and upholstery, especially for lining clothes chests, &c. 

 The large seeds are much eaten in Russia and Siberia where other 

 fruit is scarce, and in the Tyrol, an oil is expressed from them which 

 is used for lamps. 



The chief use of Pinus Oembra in this country is for ornamental 

 purposes, for which it is a very distinct tree, whether planted singly 

 or in groups. Its growth is slow, rarely exceeding a foot in one season 

 in the best soils and under the most favourable circumstances, but 



