Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
October,  1896.  J 
North  American  Coniferce. 
565 
caused  by  the  stomata  below.  Each  silvery  band  contains  seven  or 
eight  rows  of  stomata.  No  stomata  were  found  on  the  upper  sur- 
face. 
The  epidermal  cells  were  of  small  size  and  thick-walled.  A  hy- 
poderma  was  present,  and  usually  one-layered  on  the  upper  surface, 
at  the  edges  and  along  the  mid-rib  on  the  dorsal  surface,  but  absent 
elsewhere.  The  resin  passages  were  two  in  number,  located  on  the 
lower  surface  next  the  epidermis,  and  about  one-third  of  the  distance 
from  the  margin  to  the  mid-rib  of  the  leaf.  The  mid-rib  was  similar 
in  structure  to  that  of  the  other  species  described.  In  old  leaves, 
the  tissues  immediately  surrounding  the  fibro-vascular  bundles 
showed  some  scattered  lignified  fibres,  and  the  large  endodermal 
cells,  though  but  slightly  thickened,  showed  some  lignification. 
The  mesophyll  cells  were,  like  those  of  the  other  species  here 
described,  plain-walled  and  their  contents  abounded  in  tannin. 
CHEMICAL  COMPOSITION. 
The  tree  yielding  the  materials  used  in  the  investigation  was 
taken  from  the  ground  in  April,  1896.  The  percentage  results  were 
as  follows : 
Ash  in 
Tannin  in 
Moisture. 
Absolutely- 
Absolutely 
Dry  Bark. 
Dry  Bark. 
10-95 
5-85 
9-14 
9"5o 
3*97 
10*52 
The  ash  from  both  barks  consisted  of  potassium,  calcium  and 
iron,  combined  with  carbonic,  sulphuric  and  phosphoric  acids  and 
traces  of  silica. 
ECONOMICS. 
Nordmann's  fir  is  used  chiefly  as  an  ornamental  tree. 
ABIES  WEBBIANA,  LJNDLEY. 
KING  FIR.     DYE  FIR. 
This  fir  occurs  in  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  at  an  elevation  of  from  7,000  to 
10,000  feet,  extending  to  Afghanistan.  It  attains  a  height  of  150  feet,  and  a  stem 
circumference  of  30  feet.  The  wood  is  soft-grained  an  1  very  resinous.  The 
natives  extract  a  violet  dye  from  the  cones. 
