2404

ARBORETUM ANI) FRUTICETUM.

PART III.

first produced in tufts; the buds from which they spring having the appear-ance of abortive shoots, which, instead of becoming branches, only produce atuft of leaves pressed closelytogether in a kind of whorl.

These buds continue, forseveral years in succession,to produce every spring anew tuft of leaves, placedabove those of the precedingyear; and thus each budmay be said to make a slightgrowth annually, but soslowly, that it can scarcelybe perceived to have ad-vanced a line in length;hence, many of these budsmay be found on old trees,which have eight or ten rings,each ring being the growthof one year; and sometimes they ramify a little. At length, sooner or laterthey produce the male and female flowers. The inale catkins are simple,solitary, of a reddish hue, about 2 in. long, terminal, and turning upwards.They are composed of a great number of sessile, imbricated stamens, on acommon axis. Each stamen is furnished with an anther with 2 cells, whichopen lengthwise by their lower part; and each terminates in a sort of crestpointing upwards. The pollen is yellowish, and is produced in great abun-dance. The female catkins are short, erect, roundish, and rather oval: theychange, after fecundation, into ovate-oblong cones, which, when they ap-proach maturity, become from 2J in. to 5 in. long. The cones are of a greyishbrown, with a plum-coloured or pinkish bloom when young, which they loseas they approach maturity : they are composed of a series of coriaceous im-bricated scales, laid flat, and firmly pressed against each other in an obliquespiral direction. The scales are very broad, obtuse, and truncated at thesummit; very thin, and slightly denticulated at the edge; and reddish andshining on the flat part. Each scale contains 2 seeds, each surmounted by avery thin membranaceous wing, of which the upper part is very broad, andthe lower narrow, enveloping the greater partof the seed. The cones are very firmly at-tached to the branches: they neither opennor fall off as in the other ylbietinae; but, whenripe, the scales become loose, and drop gradu-ally, leaving the axis of the cone still fixed onthe branch. The seeds are of an irregular,but somewhat triangular, form, nearly IJin.long, of a lightish brown colour. Every partof the cone abounds with resin, which some-times exudes from between the scales. Thefemale catkins are produced in October, butthe cones do not appear till the end of thesecond year; and, if not gathered, they willremain attached to the tree for several years.

The tree does not begin to produce cones till it is 25 or 30 years old; and,even then, the seeds in such cones are generally imperfect, and it is not tillafter several years of bearing, that seeds from the cones of young trees canbe depended on. Some cedars produce only male catkins, and these in im-mense abundance; others only female catkins; and some both. There aretrees at Whitton, Pepper Harrow, and other places, which, though upwardsof 100 years old, and of vigorous growth, have scarcely ever produced eithermale or female catkins. The duration of the cedar is supposed to extend toseveral centuries.

2269

The Enfield Cedar

2268

The Syon Cedar.