490 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and symmetrical. The pruning may be done either in autumn or spring when the 

 sap is dormant. In cutting back the branches of any evergreen it is best to 

 cut back to where some small side shoot comes out. It will the more readily 

 heal over. Do not be afraid to prune severely; any evergreen will survive lots 

 of cutting, except perhaps the balsam, and that is no good for any purpose here. 

 The lower branches and the inner brandies soon die out and the tree presents 

 a ragged, wretched appearance. 



We have two native spruces that do well here. The black spruce found in 

 our swamps, and the white spruce, a native of the eastern States. They both 

 thrive well in dry ground. The former has short, stiff, dark colored leaves and 

 a cone about one-fourth the size of that of the Norway spruce. I think it is as 

 fine a tree as the Norway spruce and it does not grow as large. 



Next to the Norway spruce the evergreens most commonly seen here are the 

 Austrian and the Scotch pines, and I suppose for the same reason they are easily 

 grown from seed. They are strong growers and perfectly hardy, but too coarse 

 and stiff for any ornamental purpose. The Austrian pine is readily distin- 

 guished from the Scotch by its yellowish green foliage when compared with the 

 bluish green of the Scotch pine. 



Our native white pine I consider afar more graceful and pleasing tree than 

 either of the ioregoing pines. It soon grows to a large size, however, and 

 should have no place except in grounds of some extent, where it can have plenty 

 of room. In such places it can hardly be excelled. It makes a beautiful tree 

 to place a rustic seat under. Three or four of them not far apart will carpet 

 the ground underneath with a very pleasant coating of leaves in autumn. And 

 the soft sighing of the foliage makes a very pleasant accompaniment to the 

 shrilling of the cricket in the dreamy autumn days. 



For small places we have other and more desirable trees than those of which 

 I have spoken. The hemlock, although apparently very difficult to trans- 

 plant, is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever seen. Its long, grace- 

 fully drooping branches, with their feathery sprays of foliage, are very 

 pleasing, especially when they overhang the borders of a stream or lake. 

 The tree grows slowly in cultivation and remains a long time with good 

 care; the typical evergreen for ornamental purposes. Then we have the 

 arbor vita', the best of all the evergreens for screens-, as it will bear close 

 shearing and retain its vigor for many years. For an ornamental tree its 

 light, yellowish green foliage makes it very desirable to contrast with other 

 and darker colored trees. A half dozen planted in a circle eight feet in 

 diameter can be made into a very pleasant leafy arbor or summer house in 

 the course of ten or twelve years by cutting back the branches on the inner 

 side of the circle. The Siberian arbor vitft is doubtless the best of all the 

 evergreens for small places. It is a small, compact growing tree, and is 

 usually grown from cuttings or grafted upon the common arbor vita?, from 

 which it is a sprout. Another desirable native evergreen is our red cedar; 

 it does not keep its bright green in winter, however, turning to a sort of 

 reddish brown color. 



1 might extend this list of evergreens to twenty or more, all of which are 

 hardy here and desirable in any collection, but I will not trespass too much 

 upon your time. 



There are many curious things about evergreens that make them interest- 

 ing to the student. The peculiar banded and dotted structure of the wood 

 as seen under a microscope, the habit of retaining their leaves from two to 



