THE CONIFERiE OF JAPAN. 



23 



Mayr estimates to be fully 10 per cent, greater tlian in Western 

 Europe. We have here a clue to the presence of a luxuriant 

 coniferous vegetation on the range of mountains stretching 

 through Nippon, culminating in the peak of Fusi-yama, which 

 rises to 17,000 feet, and is covered with coniferous forest above 

 the limits of the Oaks and Chestnuts, up to nearly the snow-line, 

 the upper limit being occupied by Larix leijiolepis. 



At the risk of being tedious, I have brought before you these 

 elementary geographical facts ; but, simple as they are, they have 

 a most important bearing on the distribution of coniferous vegeta- 

 tion, for we may learn from them that a high degree of humidity 

 in the atmosphere is an all-important factor in the development 

 of these gigantic coniferous trees. This phenomenon is present 

 wherever gigantic coniferous trees exist. The enormous Crypto- 

 merias of Japan, the grand Deodars of the Himalayas, the 

 mammoth Sequoias of California, and the towering Firs of Oregon 

 all owe their lofty proportions more to this than to any other 

 cause. That the soil in which these trees grow is but a sub- 

 ordinate factor is shown by many examples. Pinus densiflora 

 grows upon slopes of almost bare rock; William Lobb found 

 Ahies hracteata on the slaty debris of the Santa Lucia, where it 

 would seem impossible for any vegetation to exist, and other 

 instances could be adduced. We thence infer that when these 

 and all other Conifers growing under the same conditions are 

 planted in countries like England, for example, where the 

 amount of atmospheric^ humidity is less, the moisture of a re- 

 tentive soil, although favourable to coniferous growth, cannot of 

 itself, in a drier atmosphere, fully compensate the hygrometric 

 deficiency, and, carrying our inference a step further, we arrive 

 at the conclusion that the gigantic Conifers I have named will 

 never in this country attain the enormous dimensions reached 

 by them in their native homes. 



The southern islands of Japan have a sub-tropical climate, 

 and nearly all the native Conifers belong to a sub -tropical 

 genus, Podocarpus. The other Conifers met with in Southern 

 Japan are believed to be cultivated plants brought from the cen- 

 tral provinces, or introduced from China. On the other hand, 

 the northern islands, Yesso, Sachalien, and the Kurile group, are 

 subjected to the rigours of an almost Siberian winter ; the period 

 of active vegetation is restricted to four or five months. These 



