ON SOME CONIFERS AND THEIR DISTRIBUTION. 251
Cupressus lusitanica, "Mexican Cypress" or "Cedar of Goa,"
from Mexico to Guatemala.1
Cephalotaxus drupacea, "Cow's-tail Pine" ; mountains of
Japan and Central China.
Thus they come from far-away homes, and not one is native
in Europe. One is from Tasmania, one from the Himalayas,
two from North Africa, two from Western Asia, five from China
and Japan, seven from the west coast of North America. As we
so often find in looking over a collection of cultivated conifers,
the largest number come from the lands bordering the east
and west shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Of late years many new species have been discovered in
West and South China ; one of them is represented here by the
beautiful fir "Abies Forrestii," named after George Forrest,
who died a few weeks ago in Yunnan, South-West China, where,
in eight expeditions, he carried out magnificent pioneer botanical
work—strenuous work, to which he sacrificed his health, as so
many botanical pioneers have done before him.
I will not attempt to speak of each of the eighteen species
before us, replete with interest though they are. Instead I will
say a few words about the present distribution of some of the
genera, contrasting it with their former distribution as revealed
by the researches of geologists. Later, I will refer to the
structure of the cones, and to the fresh light which seems to
have been thrown on the relationship of their different parts
as the result of recent investigations. I gratefully acknowledge
that for most of the geological facts I am indebted to Prof.
Seward's book "Plant Life through the Ages," published last
year, which I have found a mine of information. It is written
in a lucid and masterly style by one who has wide experience
and who is endowed with a certain poetic insight. An attempt
is made with the aid of ten "Reconstruction" plates to enable
the reader to visualise, as far as possible, the characteristic floras
of the main geological periods. Although intended primarily
for the non-specialist in either botany or geology, there is no
doubt that some little previous knowledge of both subjects is
needful for the full appreciation of many parts of the book.
1 Sir David Prain tells us that although this cypress is a native of Mexico it has long been
naturalized to some extent on the hills around Goa, on the west coast of the Deccan, and also
in certain parts of Portugal. He considers it probable that early Spanish cruisers introduced
it to Goa by way of the Pacific Ocean, whence, eventually, Portuguese traders or monks brought
it to Portugal ; thus the plant reached Europe by an easterly route.