1054 The American Naturalist. [December, 
Other interesting comparisons are made by Professor Sar- 
gent showing that in other ways the forests of the two regions 
are quite unlike, as in the greater number of broad-leaved 
evergreen trees and shrubs in Japan, the small number of 
pines, and more striking still, the dense bamboo undergrowth 
which covers the forest floor, even on the mountains and in 
the extreme north. 
Of the studies of the families of forest trees taken up by the 
author, it is impossible here to give more than a brief outline, 
and the reader must be referred to the work itself for the de- 
tails. Of the Magnolia family there are, in Japan, five genera, 
while in the United States there are but four; nor are there 
any evergreen species of the genus Magnolia, resembling those 
of our southern States. In this family the most important tree 
is the Cereidiphyllum japonicum, which is said to be the largest 
tree in Japan. It is often one hundred feet high, and its 
usually clustered stems are often eight or ten feet in diameter 
at their common base. 
Of Ilex latifolia, one of the eight arboreal species of hollies, 
Professor Sargent says that it is “probably the handsomest 
broad-leaved evergreen tree that grows in the forests of Japan, 
not only on account of its brillant, abundant fruit, but also on 
account of the size and character of its foliage.” We are told 
that it will certainly succeed in our southern States, and may 
be hardy as far north as Washington. 
There are twenty species of Japanese Maples, more. than 
twice as many as occur in North America. Two of these be- 
long to the section Negundo. In marked contrast to the 
Maple family is the Pea family, represented by but three 
arborescent species, viz.: Albizzia julibrissin, Maackia amurensis 
and Gleditschia japonica ; the latter closely resembles our Honey 
Locust, even to the appearance of the branches, which are 
“horribly armed with flattened spines, two or three inches in 
length.” Fraxinus manchurica, the Japanese Ash, attains a 
height of one hundred feet, with a diameter of from three to 
four feet. It has been grown for many years in the Arnold 
Arboretum, where it is quite hardy. The Japanese Elms are 
of minor importance, the principal species being identical with 
