EVERGREENS— THEIR USE AND CULTURE. 



latter picture would so much surpass the former in its attractiveness, as to have a very 

 striking effect upon evcrj' beholder, and help to bring about a great and delightful change 

 in the appearance of country seats, farms, and villages. It is true, that the old destruc- 

 tive system of cutting down and burning up everything in the shape of a shade tree, — 

 thanks to the efforts of yourself, jMr. Editor, and other philanthropists like you — has for- 

 tunately been banished from the civilised parts of the country, and that there is a grow- 

 ing interest in planting the graceful Elm, magnificent Maple, and other noble natives of 

 the forest, around our houses, and along the lines of our streets, at least — and that men 

 of real taste and intelligence are doing something more than merely setting out long, stiff, 

 formal roivs of shades; but still, the soul as well as sense, is continually pained at sight 

 of bleak, bare hills, and stark-naked, staring houses, baking in the summer's sun, or 

 shivering in the freezing blast of winter. Indeed, though we have in our northern states, 

 six to eight months of winter — as witness the season now so grudgingly passing away — 

 yet, in all our rural embellishments, we have scarely given a thought to the improvement 

 and adornment of the wintry landscape. And, notwithstanding that many of the most 

 beautiful evergreens in the world are indigenous to the soil, there is hardly an instance 

 where they have been employed to any extent among us. When we reflect that the grace- 

 ful, feathery Hemlock, the fiinged and sombre Black Spruce, and the sun-shiny Yellow 

 Spruce — (which, when well cultivated and flourishing, can scarcely be distinguished from 

 his more fashionable cousin of Norway) — the stately spires of Fir, — the grand and no- 

 ble White Pine — the curious and beautiful Holly — the pyramidal Arborvitte — the rich 

 green of the low growing Yew — the splendid Rhododendron, and the Magnificent Moun- 

 tain Laurel, are all found, growing in wild luxuriance, even within the borders of "the 

 old Bay State," we shall see how unnecessar}' it is to go abroad for beautiful evergreens, 

 and wonder that these native resources for adorning our grounds and villages, and espe- 

 cially for embellishing the wintry scene, should have been so utterly neglected. 



Use gives fitness and propriety, and hence use is an element of beauty. And a fine ev- 

 ergreen tree, like all things else in nature, is not only a beautiful object in itself, but the 

 idea of cooling shade in the summer solstice, and protection and defence againt the incle- 

 ment blasts of winter — the idea of use adds a new charm, and has the effect to enhance 

 the pleasure one experiences at contemplating a luxuriant group of such trees. When the 

 hills, and fields, and plains, are stripped of their leafy verdure, and all is bleak and bare, 

 or covered as far as the eye can see, with a dreary expanse of cold and drifting snow, 

 what a relief to the wearied vision, what a charming and beautiful eflect does a line or 

 group of living verdure, here and there, give to the wintry and desolate scene. We were 

 strongly impressed with this fact, in visiting, during the last winter, a beautiful New-Eng- 

 land village, in which some of the earliest inhabitants had the wisdom and good taste, 

 years ago, to plant, here and there, groups of such trees; and we remarked, that they not 

 onlj'^ relieved and beautified the dreary sameness of the snow-clad scene, but that they 

 seemed even to give a positive warmth and comfort. And we have no doubt, that on pla- 

 ces exposed to the cold winds, they would contribute very much, not onl}^ to shelter hu- 

 man dwellings with their denizens, from the severity of their winter assaults, but that 

 planted on the north side, and thus not in the way of the sun-shine, they would form 

 quite an effectual barrier against the severe boreal blasts, afford a protection to fruit trees, 

 and even to tender shrubbery, and really prevent the frost from striking down deep into 

 the soil. Even setting aside all considerations of beauty, we would advise the planting of 

 and screens of evergreens, for the sole purpose of protecting gardens, orchard 

 ound itself, from freezing winds. Many a choice exotic shrub, and tender del 



