26 JOURNAL OF THE EOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



called Piceas ; and, although. I purposely refram as much as 

 possible from mtroducing purely botanical questions into this 

 paper, such is the unfortunate state of the nomenclature of some 

 of these Firs and of other Japanese Conifers in its relation to 

 horticulture, that occasional reference to it cannot be avoided. 

 The names here used are those by which they are best known.* 



Abies polita usually occurs mixed with other trees, and in 

 favourable situations attains a height of upwards of 100 feet, 

 but its timber is reported to be of but little value. Mayr observes 

 that it is the stateliest of the Japanese Spruces, and commences 

 its season's growth later. Our experience of it in England 

 agrees with this ; its growth is slow in its early life, but when 

 established it is one of the most distinct and ornamental of its 

 race, perfectly hardy, and thriving in many varieties of soil. 

 Evidence of this is seen in the fine specimens growing at Linton, 

 Tortworth,Pencarrow, Carclew, Warham Court, and other places, 

 some of them now 20 feet high. 



Abies ajancnsis. — This was discovered by John G. Veitch 

 while ascending Fusi-yama in company with Sir Eutherford 

 Alcock. It grows in the cooler region of the mountain, associated 

 with another Spruce Fir, to which the Japanese at that time 

 applied the same name. Seeds of the two species were unwittingly 

 mixed together, and seedhngs of both were distributed under the 

 name of Abies Alcochiana. Several years elapsed before the 

 confusion became sufficiently apparent to call for correction, and 

 the matter was at length referred to Dr. Masters, who retained 

 one species under Lindley's original name Alcochiana, and 

 referred the other to the A. ajancnsis of Fischer. This was a 

 satisfactory solution of the difficulty for the time ; but, unfor- 

 tunately, doubts have been raised since as to the accuracy of 

 the identification, for Fischer's ajancnsis is a northern tree 

 inhabiting Yesso and Sachalien, where it is often mixed with 

 Abies sachalinensis, but our ajancnsis, according to Mayr, is not 

 found north of the 38th parallel. This is perplexing enough, and 

 will have to be dealt with in due course ; for the present let us 

 turn to the practical side of the question. In A. ajancnsis 

 (Masters) we have a useful ornamental tree, of sturdy growth, 

 not capricious as to soil and situation, remarkably distinct in the 



* For the correct botanical nomenclature of Conifers and Tasads, see 

 Dr. Masters's " Synopsis," page 179 et seg_. 



