CONIFERS. 



353 



nificent tree 120 feet in height. The cones are three 

 or four inches long - and purple when fully matured ; 

 the leaves, from three-quarters to one and a half 

 inch in length, are "bright green above and marked 

 with two silvery lines beneath. 



A. bracteata, from Southern California, should be 

 planted in high exposed situations, otherwise it is 

 apt to start too early into growth in spring, and get 

 injured by late frosts. The specific name was given 

 on account of the bracts of the cone, which are de- 

 veloped into long rigid leaf-like processes a couple 

 of inches in length. A beautiful but slow-growing 

 tree, with long dark green leaves, quite dissimilar in 

 appearance from those of any other Fir. 



A. Cepkalonica has rigid leaves terminating in a 

 sharp point ; the species flourishes in a variety of 

 soils, and thrives wonderfully well in the peaty woods 

 in the South of England. It is best to plant it in 

 high or somewhat exposed situations, to guard against 

 the young tender growths being damaged by late 

 frosts. A native of Greece, &c, where it attains a 

 height of about sixty feet. 



A. concolor — the White Fir, so called by reason 

 of the grey bark of the trunk — is common in a wild 

 state throughout the Californian sierras from 3,000 

 or 4,000 to 8,000 feet elevation ; it extends also into 

 Southern Oregon and through the mountains of 

 Arizona to Utah and South Colorado. It makes a 

 large tree, from to 80 150 feet in height, with a 

 trunk two to four feet in diameter. A. Parsonsiana, 

 also known in gardens as A. lasioearpa, and A. 

 Lortoiana, is a long-leaved form of this species. 



A. firrna is the common Silver Fir of Japan, whence 

 it was sent to England in 1861 by Mr. J. G. Veitch. 

 It has rigid leathery leaves, dark glossy green above 

 and paler beneath ; it is quite hardy and forms a 

 handsome tree ; in Japan it is said to attain a height 

 of 150 feet. 



A. grandis is the largest species in the genus : in 

 British Columbia and California it reaches 200 or 300 

 feet in height, with a trunk three to four feet in 

 diameter. It is a perfectly hardy tree of symmetrical 

 habit, with leaves one inch to one and a quarter long, 

 apple-green above and silvery beneath. 



A. magnifiecL, a native of the Californian sierras, is, 

 in its native habitats, a stately tree 200 feet or more 

 in height, with a trunk eight to ten feet in diameter ; 

 it has densely-crowded leaves — the longest being an 

 inch and three-quarters in length — olive-green, very 

 glaucous on the upper surface when young, the 

 colour becoming deeper and duller by age, and marked 

 by two silvery lines beneath. Good figures of this 

 plant — which in cultivation is confused with other 

 species — are given in the Gardener 's Chronicle for 

 November 21st, 1885. 



A. nobilis, from Northern California, &c, is one of 



the finest of all Firs. Its regular, symmetrical habit, 

 the deep glaucous green of the dense curved leaves, 

 and the handsome cones, which are freely produced 

 in cultivation, combine to render this one of the most 

 popular of Californian Conifers. It thrives in a 

 variety of soils, but is more apt than most of its 

 congeners to be attacked by an aphis which causes 

 the tips of the twigs to become clubbed and unsightly. 

 The pest which does so much injury to this species 

 can, however, be destroyed by a careful employment 

 of an emulsion of paraffin. A very fine variety of 

 A. nobilis called robusta is figured in the Gardener's 

 Chronicle for November 21st, 1885 ; it differs markedly 

 from the type in the horizontally spreading bracts. 

 In gardens, this form is grown under the name of A. 

 magnified, a name which rightly belongs to a totally 

 different plant. 



A. Xordmanniaiia, a native of the Crimea and the 

 Caucasus, is one of the least exacting of all the Firs ; 

 it thrives well in almost any soil, grows rapidly, 

 and is rarely injured by frosts, as it does not begin 

 to grow until summer has fairly set in. It is a 

 beautiful-habited plant, with deep glossy green leaves. 



A. pectinata, the Silver Fir, " forms an important 

 element of the great forests that cover the mountain- 

 sides of Central and Southern Europe, whence it has 

 spread under cultivation into all the neighbouring 

 countries." In England it is often planted for 

 profit, but in many places the leader is frequently 

 injured by spring frosts ; it should therefore have a 

 somewhat sheltered situation. Full-grown trees in 

 alluvial valleys attain a height of 100 or 150 feet; 

 near La Petite Yache, in Dauphine, are two speci- 

 mens, which measure respectively, at four feet from 

 the ground, 7 - 40 and 6'50 metres in circumference. 



A. Pinsapo is remarkable on account of its restricted 

 geographical distribution ; in a wild state it only 

 occurs on the mountains of Central and Southern 

 Spain. Its erect, rigid, sharply-pointed, bright 

 green leaves are close-set all round the branches. In 

 its native habitats it forms a tree 60 to 80 feet high, 

 of pyramidal habit, with branches right down to the 

 ground. It is quite hardy, and forms a very 

 ornamental tree for the park or pleasure-ground. 



Araucaria. — This genus contains about ten 

 species, natives of South America, Australia, New 

 Caledonia, and the islands of the South Pacific. 

 The only species, however, which can lay claim 

 to be hardy is the Chili Pine, A. imbrieata, 

 introduced in 1722. The harsh, rigid, scale- 

 like, and persistent foliage of dark green, and the 

 singular mode of branching, render this tree very 

 conspicuous. The seeds, borne in large round 

 ccnes, are eaten in Chili, where it forms wide-spread 

 forests, between the parallels 37° and -4S e south 



