APRIL. 
71 
ABIES MENZIESII AND ABIES SMITHIANA. 
Abies Menziesii.— Mistakes appear to be often made in tbe descriptions 
given of this truly noble, ornamental, and free-growing tree, which is second 
in merit to no introduced species of the extensive family of Coniferae. It 
is a lovely “ every day” tree. In the arboretum here, there is a plant of 
it 70 feet high, having, as a leader, a shoot of last year’s growth from 2 to 
3 feet long, and with shoots from all the side branches in proportion. The 
diameter of the space covered by the branches is upwards of 40 feet, the 
circumference of the bole more than 8 feet, and the tree is furnished to the 
ground with its dense branches and foliage. The latter is retained on the 
branches for from five to seven years, the greater proportion of it for five 
years, so that the branches are so densely set with foliage of five years’ 
standing that it is impossible to see the least portion of the bole without 
putting them on one side to admit the light, or creeping underneath. 
This noble tree, though in company with many other fine species, is so 
conspicuous that the eye is attracted to it at a long distance, particularly 
when the sun shines. With the wind stirring, and the sun shining on its 
lovely foliage—silvery white underneath, and of a rich blue green above— 
while the pendulous brown cones are dangling from its branches, what a 
remarkable contrast it affords to other Conifers, and what a fine spectacle 
it presents! 
The cones first appear in April; they quickly attain their full size, and 
change in colour from a bluish dusty green to brown. The seed is ripe in 
the end of September and beginning of October. Sunny windy days very 
soon cause the cones to open wide their scales and shed their seeds, which 
become scattered by means of its slender wings. The male catkins are 
pendulous, and plentiful in March and April. 
Abies Smithiana, which is by some called Khutrow, Morinda, &c., is a 
charming Conifer, worthy of a place in every collection, being quite hardy, 
distinct, and very graceful. As it advances in age, it also gains in beauty. 
On turf, where sufficient room is allowed for its independent growth, or 
where not cramped for room by other plants, it becomes clothed with 
branches to the surface of the ground, and attains the height of 25 or 
30 feet. With its pendulous or drooping branches, the tree has a remarkably 
interesting and ornamental appearance, more particularly when furnished 
with its handsome shining chestnut-coloured cones, which here grow to 
the length of from 5 to 7 inches, and are from 2 to 2£ inches in diameter. 
They are shining as if freshly varnished, first make their appearance in 
April, are soon fully grown, and are ripe in October. The seeds are small, 
and of a dark colour. 
Bicton Gardens. James Barnes. 
SELECTED ZONAL PELARGONIUMS. 
The French growers of the Zonal Pelargonium are, like ourselves, over¬ 
whelmed with varieties, differing, many of them, in a very slight degree 
from each other. They have, therefore, felt the necessity of doing for 
themselves, what for us is done by the Royal Horticultural Society’s Floral 
Committee—namely, selecting the most meritorious kinds of the various 
colours, and rejecting the inferior sorts. For these purposes the extensive 
collection grown in the garden of the City of Paris under the care of 
M. Bardlet, has been critically examined by a Commission charged with this 
