PINUS INSIGNIS. 
o 
0 
Fig. ii. 
Fig. 12. 
Fig. 13. Fig. 14. 
leaves are fmaller. So far as the fpecimens grown in this country are yet able to fpeak, this differ¬ 
ence does not hold true ; if anything, it is the leaves of P. injignis which are fmalleft; thofe grown 
here being about half an inch fmaller than the dimenfions 
given of thofe of P. radiata ; but this is a character of no 
value, for it is eafy to find on every tree leaves varying in 
length to a greater extent than that fpecified by Mr Gordon. 
We are not aware of any plant having produced fruit of the 
latter form in Britain, although there have been fpecimens 
produced of the former, fo that we have not the means of comparing home-grown cones ; but we know 
that the very fimilar fpecies, P. tnbercnlata, is exceedingly variable in the fize and form of its cones; 
that P. Benthamiana is fo alfo; and that the Mexican fpecies of this type are equally variable. We, 
therefore, do not think that a plant which has nothing to diftinguifh it but the cone being a third 
larger than the type, can fairly be regarded as a diftindt fpecies. 
It is to be obferved that Hartweg himfelf, when he difcovered it, did not fo regard it. In the 
Journal of his Expedition (published in the “Journal of the Horticultural Society,” vol. viii. p. 226), 
he fays, “ I returned to San Antonio, and croffed by the farm of El Piojo, where the ridge is lefs 
* 
elevated. A hnall Pine wood, which became vifible on our defcent, extending along the beach, looked 
like an oafis in the defert, the dark green of the Pines forming a beautiful contrail: with the parched-up 
fields. Upon a nearer examination, I found the wood to be compofed of a variety of Pinus injignis , 
with larger cones than thofe about Monterey, from which it alfo differs, in their being produced in lefs 
abundance.” 
The figure given by Lambert of the cone of P. radiata , in his “ Genus Pinus,” is not larger than 
the cone of P. injignis ufually is, and we fhould imagine, from his not fpeaking of two fpecies, that he did 
not confider that there were two. He had, no doubt, the fame materials as Loudon and the authors who 
followed him. Moreover, in the accounts of the fpecies found by the United States’ Pacific Railroad 
Exploring Expeditions we find no mention of P. radiata , but P. injignis is mentioned, and of it Dr 
Torrey remarks, “The cones when fully grown are about fix inches long;” in other words, exactly the 
fize of thofe of the fo-called P. radiata. “ They are ufually gibbous, and a little curved ; the points 
of the fcales much more developed on the gibbous fide.”* 
The relative fize of the cones and leaves, therefore, gives no ground for dividing the fpecies into two. 
Dr Coulter found this tree (the variety radiata) attaining the height of 100 feet when grown fingly, 
and with a ftraight ftem feathered to the ground with branches ; and of the normal type injignis , Mr Gordon 
fays that it grows to the height of “ from 80 to 100 feet, and from 2 to 4 feet in diameter, feathered to the 
ground with branchesbut Dr Torrey (loc. cit) fays that “ the ordinary height of the tree is from 30 to 40 
feet.” This we fhall prefently fee is confiderably lefs than the height the tree promifes to attain in this 
country; but truly we do not want any more. The beauty of this tree lies in the lovely green of its foliage 
and its abundance; and that, of courfe, is all thrown away at a height of 80 or 100 feet. Its beauty is 
better feen near at hand. It is fomewhat wayward, however, and rather declines to follow any prefcribed 
plan of growth, being fomewhat irregular in its fhape. This is feen in one of the coloured plates, which is 
a portrait of a young tree at Osborne, taken from a photograph, which we have had the gratification of 
receiving by command of the Oueen. Mr Andrew Toward, the resident manager of the Royal eftate at 
Osborne, informs us that this tree was planted in April 1847, being then about 4 feet high. It is now 
(1866) 50 feet in height, and the ftem, at 3 feet from the ground, 6 feet 6 inches in circumference. In 
1849, two years after being planted, it made a growth of 3 feet 9 inches; the following year 5 feet 9 
inches; and in 1851, 6 feet 6 inches. 
The coloured plate of the old tree is from a large photograph, one taken not far from San Francifco, 
--- and 
* Torrey’s Report in U. S. Pacific Railroad Explorations, 1854, vol. iv. 
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