SOME FEATURES OF INTEREST IN THE ORDER OP CONIFERS. H 



Statuee. 



As to size, some of the Conifers are as veritable sons of Anak. 

 Only some of the Eucalypts of Australia can approach them in 

 this particular. We have Sequoias close upon 400 feet in height, 

 Finus Lambertiana smd. ponderosa not greatly inferior, whilst 

 at the other extreme we have in New Zealand, as we learn from 

 Professor Kirk, Dacrydiums smaller than our Polar Willow. 

 What we have not got, and what geologists and explorers 

 are on the look-out for, is an herbaceous Conifer or one which 

 would link on to such a plant as Isoetes. 



Utility. 



Turning now to more utilitarian considerations, there is no 

 need for me to remind you of the extreme importance of the 

 Conifers. From the time we get up in the morning till we take 

 our rest at night, from our cradles to our graves, we of the 

 northern hemisphere at least, are daily availing ourselves in 

 some way or another of the products of these trees. Without 

 petroleum, tar, timber, or coal, where would our civilisation and 

 prosperity be ? To maintain an adequate supply of timber, to 

 protect existing forests, renew old ones and plant new ones, is an 

 urgent duty upon us as cultivators,* and one which will not be 

 lost sight of in the proceedings of this Conference. 



Nomenclature. 



Scientific nomenclature, of course, is subject to the vicissitudes 

 of scientific progress, and thus changes occur which, though 

 highly embarrassing to practical men, are historical landmarks to 

 the botanist. The subject is not one which can be discussed at 



* How urgent it is may be gathered from the following figures, taken 

 from Dr. Schlich's " Manual of Forestry," vol. i., p. 58, et seq. : — Annual 

 average value of imported wood, fifteen million pounds sterling, of which 

 twelve millions represent the value of coniferous woods, oak, &c., which 

 could be produced in this country, to say nothing of minor produce, such 

 as bark, resin, &c. Dr. Schlich computes that 5,869,667 loads of timber 

 are imported annually which could be grown in Britain. For the produc- 

 tion of this amount six million acres of land, roughly speaking, would be 

 required. Out of the total area of 26,757,000 acres of waste land in 

 Britain, it may be assumed that at least six millions would be suitable for 

 tree-culture. Large tracts in Ireland and the Hebrides now unproductive 

 might be planted, and it is all the more desirable that this should be done 

 as the prospects of a continuous importation of timber from Canada and 

 Northern Europe, whence at present we derive our principal supplies, are 

 by no means assured. 



