By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters. London : reprinted from the Linnaean Society's Journal.

The links that have marked the evolution of the different forms of coniferae have, in many cases, not dropped out, and hence it becomes very difficult to decide one species from another. It will probably be a long time before there is nothing left to write about in this lovely class of trees. In this treatise Dr. Masters writes of Abies amabilis, the rare Fraser River Silver Fir; Abies grandis, chiefly from the Columbia River and western slopes of the Rocky Mountains - to this is referred Lowiana, Parsonicana, and some others, which, however, make distinct forms in garden culture; A. concolor, chiefly from the more southern ranges of the Rocky Mountains; A. sub-alpina, chiefly from the mountains from Alaska southwardly - A. bifolia is referred to this; A. nobilis, mountains from Oregon southwardly - varieties are made of glauca, magnifica and robusta; A. religiosa, of the mountains of Mexico; A. For-tuni, of China, which has been confused with A. Jesaensis - this, by the way, is one of the cross-grained species that upsets botanical classification. One time Picea (now Abies) was distinguished from Abies (now Picea) by having the cones sitting upright on the branches, and the cones falling to pieces when the seeds were ripe.

These were the firs - the permanent drooping cones formed the spruces. This one has upright cones, and leaves like a fir, but the cones are as permanent as those of a Norway spruce, which, except shorter and broader, they much resemble. Of the spruce family (now Picea) he refers to P. omorika, a Servian species, allied to P. orientalis; P. Penke, allied to P. excelsa. The others referred to are Arthrotaxis laxiflora, Cephalotaxus pedunculata and Pseudo Larix Kaempferi. Excellent plates of each accompany the text.