THE EAST AND THE WEST. 243 



was fixing up his place with about the same number of trees and 

 -shrubs, but he knew every inch of his ground. They often compared 

 notes and looked over their places together. Then Mr. Jones quoteor 

 his eastern precedents, and his teachers showed him pictures of those 

 very things in Country Life. 



July was hot and dry and then for three mortal days the Ameri- 

 can sirocco was blowing like a blast from a fiery furnace while the 

 mercury went up to 112. Mr. Jones could smell the foliage of his 

 beautiful evergreens as they were withered by the fiery blasts. How 

 it made his heart ache. The evergreens were turning brown. White 

 pines and larche-i were cooked through. Everything wore such a 

 bedraggled look. Copious rains at last stayed the ruin, but unseen forces 

 seemed brooding in the air, which whispered, "We have not done with 

 you yet; wait till spring." Spring came and there was not a single 

 tree or plant alive on the place. Even some eastern elms were killed 

 to the ground by the winter drouth. Hiram was in despair, but Bert 

 said, "You have landed just where scores of men have before you. 

 Now you are ready to do something. We would gladly have saved 

 you from all this but you must see for yourself. You have found out 

 what you couldn't do. Now, go in with what you can do." 



You wanted Irish juniper, you see it could not possibly live. 

 What is the matter with this scopulorum or silver cedar — like It in 

 form, accustomed to this climate, its silvery foliage transcending the 

 -other in beauty? You mourn over your Nordmann's fir. There is 

 the sturdy concolor of the Rockies, far more beautiful with its blend- 

 ing of richest tints. You see it weathered any storms and is immensely 

 sut)erior to the other in hardiness and beauty. Yonr arborvitaes 

 never do well unless they can have wet feet, and they often kill on 

 dry ground, even in old Massachusetts. But what is the matter with 

 these sturdy ponderosa pines? Do they wince under the siroccos? 

 They are used to them and those long needles of shining green are 

 fully as attractive as ever were your dead favorites yonder. You can 

 raise them as easily as you can corn. They cost but little, as you 

 know where to find fliem. I guarantee they will never go back on 

 you. You love the hemlock, so would I if it would let me, but it dies. 

 Yet there is its imitation, Pseudotsugo Douglassi, that means imita- 

 tion of hemlock. This is far ahead of it in every respect. There are 

 few species that have such a marvelous variety of form and foliage, 

 you see this, and how well it endured the heat. Notice I took the pre- 

 caution to shelter it a little from the south wind. You are arcentTy 

 attached to the white pine, but you can't make it live; right here, 

 however, is the pinus flexilis, fully as beautiful in form and in addi- 

 tion you see some of them have this glauco or silvery foliage. And the 

 aristarta or foxtail pine succeeds well in our dry air. Look at this 

 specimen; so you are not losing muqh in the way of evergreens. I 

 am sorry to see your beautiful holly go down in its despair. But here 

 you see this berberis reopens, a holly leaved plant with exceedingly 



