422 The Genus Araucaria. 



the best known of all the species, having of late years been so 

 largely planted in this country. It was known to the Spanish 

 settlers nearly a century back. In 1780 Don Francisco Den- 

 dariarena was commissioned by these settlers to examine the 

 Araucarias, and report upon their suitability as timber for 

 ship-building. The result was that the wood of A. imbricata 

 was considered good, and at once applied to the repairing of 

 the vessels of the squadron then lying in the port of Talca- 

 guano. In a work published by the Abbate Molina, two years 

 later (1782), the tree is described as Pinus Araucaria. In the 

 same year the botanist Pavon was sent by the Spanish Govern- 

 ment in search of this tree ; having secured the flowers and 

 fruit (the most necessary parts for determination), he had no 

 hesitation in making it a distinct species of Araucaria (A. im- 

 bricata). The plant had, however, been gathered by Pavon in 

 a previous expedition to Chili, and transmitted by him to 

 France, where falling into the hands of Lamarck and Jussieu, 

 the former authority named it Dombeya Chilensis, but through 

 inaccuracies in the description of its botanical characters, this 

 name fell to the ground, and Pavon' s subsequent name was 

 generally used. The tree was not known in Europe in a living 

 state till Archibald Menzies, accompanying Captain Vancouver, 

 secured some fresh seeds. 



Having been invited to dine at the house of one of the 

 officials, at Yalparaiso, he begged a few of the seeds of this 

 tree, which formed part of the dessert. These were planted, 

 and carefully attended to by him on board ship ; thus young 

 plants were brought home, and were presented by Menzies to 

 Sir J. Banks, who reared one in the garden adjoining his 

 house at Spring Grove, and the remainder were presented to 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew. One of these trees is now among the 

 finest in Europe, and stands our winter climate well, Previous 

 to 1806 it was kept in a greenhouse, but after being planted 

 out it was carefully covered, to protect it from frost. This 

 precaution has now been discontinued for many years, and 

 found to be quite unnecessary, as the abundance of these trees 

 in almost every well-kept garden testify. Plants can now be 

 obtained for a few shillings which about twenty years since 

 could only be had for as many pounds. The best description 

 of the Chilian Araucaria forests is from Poeppig's travels in the 

 Peruvian Andes. He says : " The Araucaria — a tree that 

 affords the Indians of the Patagonian Andes a great part of 

 their food — will not grow on the lowlands, and it also preserves 

 an accurately defined boundary with respect to its northern 

 limits. When transplanted into many parts of the province of 

 Concepcion, it exhibits a sickly, deteriorated appearance, and 

 vegetates so reluctantly that from many fresh seeds which 



