and more efpecially the fcale, feed, and wing, larger. The latter, as well as the brad at the back of the
fcale, are differently (haped.
This fpecies is allied to A. Pattoniana, and by fome has been fupposed to be fynonymous with it.
Mr Gordon fo reckons it in his " Pinetum," but the two trees are perfectly diftinct, and may be readily
diftinguifhed from each other. A. Pattoniana is a tree which grows to nearly double the height of
A. Hookeriana, the former reaching 150 feet, the latter only from 50 to 100 feet. The cones do not differ
much in fize, but thofe of A. Pattoniana when ripe are of a dark-brown colour, and thofe of A. Hookeriana
of a light-fawn colour, somewhat of the hue of the cone of A. alba. The fcales of A. Pattoniana are a
third or a half fmaller than thofe of A. Hookeriana. They are deeply crenulated quite down to the fpace
covered by the bract, and that place is fmooth and prominent, as ftiewn in the woodcuts [figs. 4 and 5],
reprefenting refpedtively the outer and inner fide of the fcale of
, —N (.»rftlv A. Pattoniana. The fcales of A. Hookeriana are not crenulated,
an evanefcent raifed line only fliewing itfelf here and there. The
Fig. + 5- Fig- <•• 7; (hape of its fcale alfo is lefs regular; it is ufually more cut out on
Abies Pattoniana. Abies Hookeriana. one flcje than the other, and where the cutting out has commenced,
the fcale has thinned off fo as to be membranaceous ; figs. 6 and 7 reprefent the outer and inner fides.
In A. Pattoniana it is not fo thinned off. In the fcale of that fpecies the place where the two next fcales
have lain over it, is not, or at leaft is fcarcely, to be diftinguished from the expofed part. In A. Hookeriana
it is very marked, there being an immediate rifing or thickening in the line of the fcale juft beyond where
the overlapping fcales lay, fhewing the expofed part very diftinctly of a triangular fhape, with its fides
concavely curved. The furface of the covered part in A. Hookeriana is duller and more opaque than the
expofed part, and the ftreaks or raifed lines are lefs perceptible. In A. Pattoniana no fuch difference
exifts. The bract in A. Pattoniana contracts at about two-thirds of its
^ Q f / length from the top, and has a projecting purple ear immediately before the
g f. f. jo ^^ contraction, as feen in fig. 8. A. Hookeriana has no fuch ear, and the
a p»no"»»na. a.Hookcnanx i » - « a. Hmkcnao. contraction takes place at one-third from the top inftead of two-thirds
[fee fig. 9]. The ear fpoken of is not to be confounded with a fort of projection which both have at the
top angles. The feed and the wing of A. Pattoniana [fig. 10] are both about one-third fhorter than thofe
of A. Hookeriana [fig. i r], and the wing of the former has a purplifii-brown tinge at the top and back, which
is not in the latter. The leaf is generally fmaller, although
fometimes as large as that of A. Pattoniana ; and although on a
curfory glance it looks very like, it {till differs fo effentially from
it as of itfelf to eftablifh beyond all doubt that they do not belong
to the fame fpecies. A. Hvokeriana has ftomata on both fides
of the leaf; A. Pattoniana has them only on the under fide.
The former has the ftomata normally arranged in four rows,
with the ufual interruptions and aberrations; in the latter they
are fmaller in fize, arranged more clofely, leaving a wider outer
margin without ftomata, and normally in five rows inftead of
four. The former has the margin of the leaf fmooth ; the latter
/
V
fI^u. Hg. 13. Fig. 14. Fig. 15. has it diftinCtly ferrated towards the point. The differences
Abies Hookeriana. Abies Pauoniana. between the two leaves will be feen from the accompanying
woodcuts, which are taken from leaves purpofely chofen of the fame fize. Had they been chofen of the
more ordinary proportions, the differences between them would have been ftill more apparent. Figs. 12 and
13 lhew refpeCtively the under and upper fides of A. Hookeriana; figs. 14 and 15 thofe of A. Pattoniana.
Defcription.—This tree
exception of Cupreffus Lawfo-.
of great beauty. Mr William Murray fpeaks of it as being (with the
the molt beautiful of the new difcoveries which his expedition produced.
Its
Its gracefulnefs and elegance are the qualities on which he particularly dwells. And from the figure in the
accompanying plate, which is from a (ketch made by him on the fpot in 1854, we may fee that it poffeffes a
great deal of the elegance, and fomething of the chara&er, of the Deodar. Dr Newberry, who fubfequently
difcovered and defcribed it under the name of Abies Williamfonii, calls it "this beautiful fir, one of the fineft
of the genus," and fays " it is a tree of large fize and Alpine habit, reaching 100 feet in height. The form
is rather fpreading and irregular, but remarkably graceful." Mr William Lobb {Joe. cit.) fays: "Of all the
coniferous trees that have been introduced from this countiy (N. W. America), this will doubtlefs prove
the molt ornamental and ufeful. In habit of growth and general appearance it much refembles the
Deodar; but, being more thickly branched, and more denfely clothed with foliage, it is by far a more handfome
tree." The foliage is light and feathery; its colour a clear yellow-green; and when combined with
Picea grandis and P. amabilis, it produced groups which appeared to Dr Newberry to prefent the extreme
limit of arborefcent beauty. Mr W. Murray fpeaks of it as only about 50 feet high. One which he cut
down meafured 47! feet in height, and was 20 inches in diameter at the ftump. He found its timber hard
and tough ; and, according to Mr Lobb, it is of a reddifh colour, clofe and fine grained, and remarkable for
Strength and durability.
Geographical Diflribution.—This tree was found by Mr W. Murray on Scots Mountain, one of the high
Californian mountains, about lat. 41° 20' N., long. 122° 37' W., where the ground was already covered with
fnow, on the 16th of October. Dr Newberry found it on the fummit of the Cafcade Mountains in Oregon,
lat. 44° N., and fays that it is the molt Alpine in its habit of all the firs, extending from the height of 6000
feet to the limit of perpetual fnow. He adds, " It will doubtlefs be found in fimilar circumftances on other
parts of the Cafcade range, but we faw it only on the group of mountains called the Three Sifters." We
are no granters of propofitions : and, therefore, before affenting to it, fhould like to know a little better than
appears from the Doctor's defcription, what he means by its being the moft Alpine in its habit of all the
firs. Will it bear a more arCtic climate than Pinus Bankfiana, or Abies nigra, or A. excel/a, which, in
Norway, extends as far north as lat. 70°? We think not; but that is of lefs confequence than the important
faCt that it is a beautiful tree, and fo far Alpine as to make it perfectly fafe to cultivate in the coldeft
parts of Britain or temperate Europe. Lobb found it in great abundance on the higheft peaks of the
Sierra Nevada, near the head-waters of the north tributary of Feather River, alfo more foutherly
towards Lake Bigler, in lat. 39° 30' N., and long. 120° 15' W.
Hijlory.—The merit of difcovering and introducing this fine tree unqueftionably belongs to Mr
William Murray. He found it in 1854, anc' his brother's defcription of it was publifhed {loc. cit.) in 1855.
Dr Newberry did not find it until two years later, and his publication of it under the name of A.
Williamfonii is dated only in 1857. Murray's name,A. Hookeria?ia, mull, therefore, take precedence;
that is, always fuppofing that there is any queftion of precedence. If the two trees are not the fame, then
both names will ftand. We think, however, that they are the fame, notwithftanding feveral difcrepancies in
the defcriptions and figures. The reader may compare the figures of the cones given by thefe gentlemen
from the following woodcuts, of which fig. 16 is a copy of Mr Murray's figure of the cone of A. Hookeriana;
and figs. 17 to 22 inclufive, copies of Dr Newberry's figures of the cones, fcales, &c„ of his A. Williamfonii.
Fig. 17 reprefents the cone, branch, leaves, and male flower of A. Williamfonii, natural fize; figs.
18, 19, and 20, the fcales and feeds; and figs. 21 and 22, the fide and bafe of an old cone.
We can fee no real difference in the cones. The flight apparent difference obvioufly arifes from Dr
Newberry's having been taken from the cones cxaCtly as they were preferved; while we happen to know
that the cone from which Mr Murray's was drawn, was, previous to its being copied, fteeped in water to
make it aflume its natural proportions—the effect of which is to clofe together the fcales, and reduce the
apparent diameter of the cone. Before the cone was fo treated it had very much the appearance of Dr
Newberry's, fig. 17 or fig. 21, both of which afpeCts were found among cones from which Mr Murray's
r g -1 B defcriptions