740 THE GIANT ARBOR-VITjE. [April 



Lebanon, may ever form such magnificent avenues as lime, plane, 

 beech, oak, the sweet or horse chestnut, or poplar. And those who 

 always associate avenues with the Gothic or round arches formed by 

 such trees will not be likely to try larches or spruces. But the 

 primary meaning of the word avenue is simply one or more lines of 

 trees supporting the sides of a road, walk, path, or street, generally 

 straight, but occasionally winding, so that virtually any two parallel 

 lines of trees form an avenue. As already stated, lines of stately 

 larches would, from the light character and changing hues of their 

 foliage, the stature and straightness of their trunks, and the symmet- 

 rical growth of both boles and boughs, have a very pleasing effect. 

 Some may object to the larch because it is deciduous. To me that 

 is one of its greatest merits. For charming as is this tree in all 

 stages of its growth, its towering trunks and leafless boughs in their 

 delicate ramifications are almost equally beautiful. Some would 

 say even more so, especially when their smallest twigs are trans- 

 formed into crystallized icicles during the prevalence of those rime 

 frosts that clothe our landscapes and forests in white robes, and 

 transform all our trees into brides, D. T. Fish. 



THE GIANT ARBOR-VIT^ 



(Thnia gigantccC). 

 BY A. D. WEBSTER, PENKHYN CASTLE, NORTH WALES. 



" SUBSTITUTES for the Larch " has, on more than one occasion, 

 O been the title of articles written for your columns, but 

 amongst all the trees recommended for this purpose by the authors 

 of such, none, in our opinion, can equal or approach the above, if, 

 perhaps, we except the most valuable of all — Pinus Laricio. 

 Nuttall, in his Plants of the Pochj Mountains, Professor Sargent, in 

 Catalor/uc of the Forest Trees of North America, Dr. Newberry, Sir 

 E. Belcher, and numerous others have all spoken in the highest 

 terms of T. gigantca as a handsome, hardy, and valuable timber tree 

 — sentiments that we feel almost inclined to substantiate from speci- 

 mens growing on this side the Atlantic ; for certainly as a hardy, 

 fast-growing timber tree, that is neither influenced, at least to any 

 great extent, by altitude or soil, it has few rivals, and is already 

 fast gaining ground in the estimation of that important portion of 

 tlie British community — tree planters. Some of your readers may, 

 perhaps, think that we are over-belauding the tree, but not so, for 



