476 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



above Estepona ; the upper half of the Sierra Nevada ; and the 

 province of Ronda, at a height of from 3,500 to 6,000 feet. It is 

 probably also found on the Cerro of San Christoval. Mr. Gordon 

 says that it prefers the northern exposures, and that it reaches even 

 near the summits, where the snow lies at least four or five months in 

 the year. It is also said to be met with in some parts of the opposite 

 coast of Morocco. 



Regarding the quality of timber produced in Scotland I can say 

 little ; it closely resembles, both in colour and texture, that of the 

 Silver Fir ; but the samples which came into our hands were not 

 sufficiently matured for a decided statement to be given. The average 

 rate of growth of A. Finscqjo, under favourable conditions, is 14 inches 

 annually, while in one instance at least we have known it to produce 

 30 feet of timber in an equal number of years. A native of Spain. 

 Introduced in 1839 (Trans. Roy. Scot. Arb. Soc. xii. pt. 2). 



Very fine trees of about 50 feet high, or even more, may be seen 

 in several Danish gardens. It has also produced cones there. 



Professor F. Schiibeler says, in his " Viridarium," that the largest 

 tree he had seen in Norway was at Christiansand ; it was 14 feet 

 high, with a circumference of 18 inches, and a spread of branches 

 14 feet in diameter. 



I saw some in Sweden ; it thrives well in Skaane, but not so well 

 at Stockholm. 



Introduced into England in 1839. 



A. religiosa, Lindl. in Penny Cyclop, i. n. 6. Pinus relig'wsa, 

 H. B. and Kth. Nov. Gen. and Spec. ii. 5. Picea religiosa, Loud. 

 Arb. iv. 2349, f. 2257. Pinus hirtella, H. B. and Kth. I.e. Jhies 

 hirtella, Lindl. in Penny Cyclop, n. 11. Picea hirtella, Loud. Arb. iv. 

 2349. 



Habitat. — A. religiosa is a native of various parts of Mexico and 

 Guatemala, between latitudes 15° and 20° N., but always at a very high 

 elevation, and in some places at the extreme verge of arborescent 

 vegetation. 



A. religiosa is one of the most beautiful of the Silver Firs, form- 

 ing a tree of 150 feet high on the mountains ranging between 15° and 

 22° of N. latitude, and ascending to an elevation of 9,000 feet. It 

 derives its name "religiosa" from the fact that the Mexicans make 

 use of the branches to decorate their churches {Gardeners^ Chronicle, 

 January 10, 1885, p. 56). 



In the canons on the largest mountains it becomes a very sym- 

 metrical tree. On the upper limit of vegetation, as on Popocatapetl, 

 it is dwarfed to a flat-topped bush. The cones are small, 3 to 5 inches 

 long, with the bracts long and exserted like its congeners, A. Preiser i of 

 the Eastern States and A. nohilis of Oregon. 



The Mexican Fir is much used in the ornamentation of parks, and 

 in the decoration of churches and cemeteries by the native devotees 



