*HE CYPRESS. 225 



tribe rarely form forests like those of the Fir and Pine tribe, but 

 are found intermixed with the trees and shrubs of other Orders, 

 not always sparingly, but often in groups of considerable extent. 

 On the mountain sides, they occur at a lower elevation than the 

 Pines and Firs. 



The economic value of the tribe, as regards the application of its 

 timber to constructive purposes, is insignificant compared with that of 

 the Firs and Pines. There are not many of the species that attain 

 dimensions large enough to supply planks in sufficient quantity or of 

 sufficient size to be serviceable beyond the localities in which the 

 trees are growing, and consequently timber produced by trees belonging 

 to the tribe, with two or three exceptions,* rarely forms an article of 

 commerce. The special properties of the wood of the most important 

 species will be noticed in their respective descriptions. 



In Great Britain the value of the tribe consists almost exclusively 

 in the ornamental qualities possessed by the species and varieties 

 included in it, that are sufficiently hardy for our climate. As 

 decorative garden plants, their importance can scarcely be overrated ; 

 their formal and compact growth, the limited space they require, the 

 variety they afford in the colour of their foliage, which is often 

 variegated with the richest yellow, and sometimes with white, and 

 the strong contrast they make to the trees and shrubs of other 

 Orders, render them among the most attractive as well as the most 

 popular of garden plants. 



I— CUPRESSUS (Tournefort). The Cypkess. 



The Cypresses are tall or medium-sized evergreen trees, natives 



of the warmer parts of the north temperate zone, chiefly in the 



south of Europe, the Levant, China, California, and Mexico. There 



is much diversity in habit among the different species, the branches 



of some being erect, of others spreading, and in one of the 



Chinese species, when the tree has arrived at maturity, they are 



pendulous, like those of a "Weeping "Willow. The branchlets of 



some kinds are rigid and ascending, or spreading, and of others, 



feathery or drooping, and the foliage of nearly all the species is 



remarkable for richness and depth of colouring, to which a silvery 



glaucous hue is frequently superadded. 



* The wood of the Bermuda and Virginian Junipers is much used in the manufacture 

 of pencils and penholders. The timber of the Eetinosporas is a considerable item in Japanese 

 commerce, and that of Libocedrus fetragona is shipped from southern Chili to many of the 

 ports of South America on the Pacific coast. 



