26 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



brilliancy of their autumnal foliage ; and certainly, for sev- 

 eral weeks, longer than any flowering tree retains its beauty 

 of blossom, the maples, ashes, oaks, and many other trees, 

 display a magnificence unequalled by any show of flowers. 

 Even without considering this, our native trees are superior, 

 for our purposes, to their too often-planted European allies. 



With what has been previously shown regarding the suita- 

 bility of native species to the climate in which they grow, 

 and the unusually large number of species from which we 

 have to draw, it seems hardly necessary to argue that we 

 need not look far to find the region from which to select the 

 best trees for our lawns, woods, or streets. 



One of the greatest difficulties in the way of obtaining 

 native species is the scarcity of such material in our nurse- 

 ries. Most American nurseries contain at best few Ameri- 

 can trees, being chiefly filled with the more easily procured 

 European plants, which, however attractive they may appear 

 in their young state, are generally unsatisfactory here at 

 maturity ; European species, as a rule, having, after a test of 

 more than fifty years, failed, in most cases, to make fine trees 

 suitable to our climate, or in any way equal to their Ameri- 

 can relatives. This error in selection renders it too often 

 desirable to replant many of the older estates in the neigh- 

 borhood of Boston ; and it is a source of general regret, that, 

 when Central Park in New York was commenced, few other 

 than common European trees could be procured in the nurse- 

 ries to plant there. The visitors to this great pleasure-ground 

 are therefore prevented from becoming familiar with the 

 beautiful trees of our own forests. 



Comparing the allied trees of the American and European 

 forests, it will be found, that, when such comparison can be 

 fairly made, the advantage for our purposes is invariably in 

 favor of the American tree. 



The white pine (^Pinus Strobus'), while it is for practical 

 purposes the most valuable of the New-England pines, is at 

 the same time much more beautiful than any pine capable of 

 withstanding the rigor of our climate. The European Scotch 

 pine {Pinus sylvestris^ and the Austrian pine (^Pinus Laricio 

 var. Austriaca) are frequently planted, although they have 

 already proved thenxselves unable to attain maturity in our 

 climate. 



