CHAP. CXIII.

coni'ferae. ce'drus.

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the Nepal and Indo-Tataric mountains, at 10,000 ft. or 12,000 ft. abovethe level of the sea. Introduced in 1822.

Varieties. According to Dr. Lindley, two varieties, or perhaps nearly alliedspecies, called the Shinlik and Christa rooroo, are mentioned by Moorcroftas natives of the forests of Ladakh . ( Penn. Cyc.)

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Description. A lofty and very graceful tree, sometimes attaining the heightof 150 ft., with a trunk 30 ft. in circumference, or even more; and rarely, inthe Himalayas , falling very far short of thesedimensions. The branches are ample andspreading; ascending a little near the trunk ofthe tree, but drooping at the extremities. Thewood is compact, of a yellowish white, andstrongly impregnated with resin. The bark isgreyish, and, on the young branches, coveredwith a glaucous bloom. The leaves are eithersolitary or tufted, and are very numerous : theyare larger than those of C. Libani, and of abluish but dark green, covered with a lightglaucous bloom. The male catkins are upright,without footstalks; cylindrical, somewhat club-shaped ; and yellowish, tinged with red. Thecones are upright, generally in pairs, on short,thick, woody footstalks; of nearly the sameshape as those of the cedar of Lebanon , but

broader and longer; slightly tapering at the base, and somewhat more pointedat their summit. They are of a rich reddish brown, very resinous, and withthe margins of the scales slightly marked with green; about 4 in. in length,and from 1 in. to 2Jin. broad. Thescales are nearly of the same size andshape as those of C. Libani; but theyfall off when ripe, like those of the silverfir. The seed is light brown, and ir-regularly shaped, with a large brightbrown wing. The rate of growth, inthe climate of London , appears to beouch the same as that of the cedarof Lebanon ; and it is equally hardy,ft plant in the Horticultural Society’sGarden, of which Jig. 2285. is a por-trait, after being 7 years planted, was, in1837, 8 ft. high, with the habit of thecommon cedar ; but differing in theglaucous or silvery hue of its leaves,

®d in the points of its branches beingmore pendulous.

Geography and History. The Cedrus Deodara, the deodar, or kelon, ofhills, according to Hoyle, is the most celebrated coniferous plant of theHimalayas. It is found in Nepal, Kamaon, and as far as Cashmere , at eleva-tions of from 7,000 ft. to 12,000 ft. from Sirmore and Kurhawal; as, for ex-ample, on Mouma, Deohan, Choor, Kederkauta, and Najkanda. Roxburgh » a s **■ aa inhabitant of the mountains in Eastern India, in Nepal, and Thibet .According to Dr. Royle, the deodar cedar is mentioned by Avicenna . Itappears, in the quality and durability of its wood, its fragrance, and thequantity of resin which it produces, to accord so well with the cedar of theancients, as to be by some identified with that tree. Its loftiness and itsspreading branches accord admirably with the descriptions given of the cedar® Holy Writ; and its wood (which is said to be incorruptible), from its hard-ness and the fineness of its grain, might easily have been wrought as that is