PINETUM BRITANNICUM. 
v 
6 
ready, they are perfiflent to the laft degree, and require all the machinery recommended by Mr 
Lambert. If we wait until fpring, when the ground is ready to receive the feed, the cone has by that 
time fallen to pieces of its own accord. 
The difcovery of the error of the older botanifts on this point has, we imagine, led their fucceffors to 
affume, that as the cones of all Cedars are now known to be not perfiflent, the diftindtion taken by their 
predeceffors as to the breaking up or not of the cones is of no value at all. We are not prepared to go fo 
far. The Deodar has now begun to fruit in this country, and it has been found that its fcales are much 
lefs perfiflent than thofe of Libani Specimens pulled fo green as even to have their unchanged colour and 
bloom upon them, can fcarcely be kept from falling to pieces unlefs tied up or netted. 
As in the other organs, deceptive fcales may be eafily picked out; but the normal form of the Deodar 
at leaf! is diftindt from thofe of the other two. The following outlines (fig. io), copied 
Difference m the f rom Dr Hooker’s paper, already referred to, contrail: the form of the fcales of all three: 
form of the fcales 
of the cone. the fmooth line being that of the Cedar of Lebanon, the fhaded line that of the Deo¬ 
dar, and the dotted line that of the African Cedar. The difference feems to us of fome 
value as a fpecific charadter. It will be obferved, however, that the difference is not between all of 
them, but only between the Deodar and the other two. It muff alfo be obferved, 
that the differences here fpoken of are adfual differences in the form of the fcales, 
not the difference given by Endlicher as fpecific diftindtions, viz., that the fcale of 
the one is bent in near the bafe almofl at right angles, while that of the other is flat. 
H is words are, “ Strobili fquamis bafi, fub angulo redto inflexis,” and, “ Strobili 
Fig IO fquamis bafi haud inflexis.” On this diftindtion, Dr Lindley fays that this differ¬ 
ence feems to have no real exiftence, or rather to depend on the age of the cone; for before maturity 
the fcales are clofely preffed together and bent upwards, but as the feed ripens they fpread out and 
become ftraight, or even reflexed, before they fall away from the perfiflent cones. So far as we have 
feen, however, the bend referred to is the normal form of fcale in the Cedar of Lebanon, while it is not 
fo in the Deodar. 
The chief difference here lies in the form of the wings of the feeds. Thefe are 
P^s refpedtively contrafled in fig. 11, by the plain, shaded, and dotted lines, as has been 
done above with the cone and fcales. Here again the difference is not between all three, 
but only between the Deodar and the other two. The difference is perhaps of as great fpecific value 
as any of the others, the gradual or hidden expanfion of the wing of the feed being a character 
which has been found ufeful in difcriminating other allied fpecies; as, for example, the different 
fpecies of the Silver Lirs of Greece, Picea Cephalonica , P. Aftollinis , &c. Seeds of the 
Deodar lofe their vitality much fooner than thofe of Atlantica. Thofe brought from India, 
unlefs fent home with the utmoft defpatch when gathered, will vegetate fparingly and weakly. 
Kg. ii. On the other hand, feeds of Atlantica will vegetate pretty freely although kept over a year. 
The odour given out by plants, although fo evanefcent, unfeizable, and impoffible to be defcribed, is by 
no means to be defpifed as a charadter, efpecially in conifers, where we require every help 
Difference w hi c h we ca n find, and where, moreover, the odour is ufually very marked. Almofl: every 
in the odour. J 
fpecies has a different fragrance, and any one who has paid attention to the fubjedt could, 
from that alone, diftinguifh many of the fpecies. This is moll marked in thofe fpecies which have a large 
amount of refin in their veins (fo to fpeak), and more efpecially in their feeds or feed-veffels, as Piceas, 
Cypreffes, &c. The odour is different in different parts, and fhews itfelf in different ways. The general 
odour is diftindt from that given out by the different parts. Who can enter a foreft of Scotch Lir or 
Spruce without rejoicing in the delightful fmell ? The fragrance of a journey through a wood of Pinus 
Cembra in Switzerland lingers in the memory ever after. As regards this general diffufion of the breath 
of the Cedars, there is not much to be faid: fo far as can be learned in Europe, little or nothing. We 
have old groves of Cedar of Lebanon and young groves of the Deodar, but neither of thefe of fuch extent 
as 
