ORNAMENTAL TREES. 31 



variety to their collections of native trees by the introduc- 

 tion of exotic species; and the question naturally arises, 

 Where are we to look for such additions ? Great and ex- 

 pensive mistakes have been made in the past by neglecting 

 to study the conditions under which any exotic species flour- 

 ishes naturally. Many attempts have been made, and much 

 money wasted in the struggle, to acclimate in the East the 

 trees of the Pacific forest, and always with the same result, 

 — a total failure. 



The great black current of the Pacific Ocean produces a 

 climate for Oregon similar to that of Ireland and England, 

 and very unlike our own. So, as might have been expected, 

 the trees of the Pacific forest, which fail entirely in Eastern 

 America, succeed perfectly in Western Europe, where, of late 

 years, they have been largely introduced. Had the condi- 

 tions under vv^hich these trees grew been carefully observed, 

 and a practical application made of the result, no such at- 

 tempt would have been made to cultivate them in a climate 

 like ours, excepting in those experimental gardens, which, if 

 arboriculture is ever to attain the dignity of an exact science, 

 must always be kept up in every country, either through 

 private enterprise and interest, or in public institutions en- 

 dowed for the purpose of such special research. Where, then, 

 shall we go in search of additional species? As the corre- 

 sponding coasts of continents are found to possess similar 

 floras, it is natural to expect that the best results would be 

 obtained for us from plants taken from the region of Mant- 

 churia, Northern China, and Northern Japan. Indeed, we 

 find that there are many indigenous species common to the 

 seacoast floras of both continents. Among such are the 

 mountain maple {Acer spicatum'), the speckled alder (^Alnus 

 incana)^ a hemlock quite nearly like our own Eastern hem- 

 lock, and a white birch: there are barberries, species of rhus, 

 the fox-grape ( Vitis Lahrusca), spiraeas, and a large number 

 of woody and herbaceous plants common to both floras. It is 

 important to consider the latitude in which the Asiatic plants 

 naturally grow. It is, of course, as useless to expect that a 

 plant from South-eastern Asia should flourish in the latitude 

 of New England, as that one from our own Southern States 

 should find itself at home on Mount Washins^ton. But the 

 plants from the southern coast of China and Japan will thrive 



