PINETUM DANICUM. 



429 



graceful manner. It prefers a north aspect, and attains a great height 

 in favourable situations, frequently from 100 to 150 feet high. Capt. 

 Hodgson measured a fallen tree in 1830 and found the length 169 feet 

 (G. Gordon, " The Pinetum," 1875). 



The economic value of P. Morinda does not appear to be very 

 great. Sir J. D. Hooker notes that ''it has white wood, employed 

 for posts and beams," but the timber is soft, and, although free from 

 knots, is very perishable (Gordon, "Pinetum,"p. 21). Dr. Royle states 

 that a very fine resin is secreted in the cones, which, no doubt, would 

 yield a superior turpentine Botany of the Himalayan Mountains," 

 p. 352). 



It is the most graceful Fir met with on the Himalayas, on account 

 of its long drooping branchlets and great dimensions. It sometimes 

 measures from 18 to 20 feet in girth four feet from the earth's surface, 

 and towers 150 feet or more into the heavens. Its wood is soft 

 and open-grained, and when converted into boats is said not to last 

 more than five or six years. 



In the Himalayas this Fir is called " Morinda" (nectar, or honey 

 of flowers), on account of the resinous drops or tears found on the 

 young cones and other parts of the tree, resembling honey. The 

 mountaineers about Simla call it " Rai," " Re," " Rhai," and " Ray- 

 ung"; and the people of Gurhwal, "Realla," "Rhei," and "Rayha," 

 all variations in their dialects for Fir-tree, Prickly Fir, and Wood 

 Pine. It is also called by the same people "Roo," "Roo-ee," and 

 ''Row," all signifying to weep or shed tears, either on account of 

 its resinous drops or the drooping appearance of the full-grown trees. 

 Dr. Royle's barbarous local name, " Khutrow," should either be 

 "Koodrow" (Weeping Fir) or "Koodrai" (Prickly Fir), its true 

 vernacular names about Simla, of which Dr. Griffith's temporary 

 botanical one, spinulosa, is a translation. In the Simla jurisdiction it 

 is styled " Row " and " Rai," and in the Kohistan of the Punjab, and 

 in Kooloo, "Koodrow"; but in Kamaon and Gurhwal "Morinda" 

 and "Koodrai" are its more common appellations. The tree is a 

 very sombre figure in the landscape. 



No one should attempt to introduce this tree unless every care 

 and attention can be bestowed upon it after planting, having first 

 selected a congenial spot. The Himalayan Spruce is almost invariably 

 found on the northern declivities of the mountains in its native 

 country, and therefore requires either a partially shaded aspect or a 

 northern exposure. In the latter case, if a belt of evergreens or 

 other protection be afforded, fine specimens may be obtained, but as 

 it belongs to that class of uncertain trees, neither tender nor yet 

 entirely hardy, care is absolutely necessary to induce it to thrive 

 properly. A slight protection of evergreen boughs, tied quite loosely 

 over it during the winter, is all that is required ; or, in the case of 

 young plants, the boughs may be allowed to remain during the summer 



