distinct species, Abies microsperma. Plants raised from the seed "turned out to be unsuitable for the climate of this country."[1] This form, according to Mayr, and so far as I can judge myself, can hardly rank even as a variety, and is not in cultivation at the present time.
Maries[2] visited Yezo in 1879 and sent home specimens, now preserved in the Kew Herbarium, and seeds of the true Picea ajanensis from that island; and young trees should accordingly be in cultivation in this country. This plant was kept separate by Messrs. Veitch at first, under the name Abies yezoensis. Maries considered the Yezo spruce to be quite distinct in habit and aspect from the two spruces which he had seen on Fujiyama (Alcockiana and hondoensis).
Mayr informed me last year that the Yezo spruce was not introduced into Europe until 1891; and that most of the trees on the Continent passing under the name of Picea ajanensis belong to Picea hondoensis. The specimens which have been sent me from old trees of reputed P. ajanensis in England also belong to that species.(A.H.)
On account of the heavy floods which occurred in July 1904, I did not get far enough north in Hokkaido to see this tree at its best, but in the State forests of Shari, Kutami, and Kushiro, it occurs in great masses, and is one of the principal economic products of the island. I saw it thinly scattered in forests of deciduous trees between Sapporo and Asahigawa, where it was of no great size, and in the forest round the volcanic crater-lake of Shikotsu in the south-east of Hokkaido it formed, here and there, nearly pure forests of small extent, mixed more or less with Picea Glehnii and Abies sachalinensis, at an elevation of 1000 to 2000 feet. The vegetation in these forests was quite unlike anything that I saw in Central Japan, the ground being covered with a dense layer of humus, and in the more shady places two or three species of Pyrola were abundant. Daphne, Gaultheria, Ledum, and other plants not seen elsewhere occurred, with curious terrestrial orchids and many ferns. The trees rarely exceeded 80 feet in height by 4 to 6 feet in girth, but higher up near the lake I measured one as much as 100 by 9 feet.
The general appearance of the tree is very like that of P. sitchensis, though I did not notice that the roots became buttressed, which is probably only the case in wet soil. The natural reproduction is good, but the seedlings grow slowly at first and seemed to thrive best in shade. The Japanese name is Eso-Matsu.
Timber
The wood of this tree is soft, but probably as good as that of other spruces. I passed the night at a factory in the forest where it was being cut up into thin slices for export to Osaka, where large quantities are used for making matchboxes. It is also employed for boat masts and other purposes, and is worth in Tokyo about 10d. per cubic foot. On account of its softness, lightness, and fineness of grain,
