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ASIATIC CONIFERS. 



i 



Let every man, then, who loves his fj.inh'n and liis pleasure groumls, and who seeks 

 to embellish ami adorn them — who would hoighten rather than mar th(.'ir natural 

 beauties, and steer with precision between the rules of art and nature, avdidinir the 

 defects of either, yot risintr superior to both, let him so plant his trees and shrubs as 

 to present individually nnd collectively the greatest diversity, combined with the most 

 delightful and harmonious arrangement. 



ASIATIC CONIFERS.* 



BY JOHN SAUL, W.iSniNOTON, D. C. 



Califoiinia gives us very beautiful evergreens, and among its conifei-s some of the 

 loftiest trees in the world ; but the Himalayan mountains give a still more decided 

 character to many of the trees and shrubs which it produces. These lofty mountains, 

 whose sides are clothed with the richest vegetation, appear to impart a portion < f 

 their own gigantic stature to the trees and shrubs which they produce; — the Ithodo- 

 dendrons attain the height of trees ; the Uolly (^Hcx lutifolia) also grows high, having 

 foliage as large as Magnolia grandijlora ; the Spruce [Abies morindu) has longer 

 and more graceful foliage or branches than its conjeners in Europe or this country. 

 How long, broad, and beautiful, is the foliage of the Silver Firs {Picca Wclbiana and 

 pindroio) compared to Balm of Gilead, or even the beautiful Silver Fir of Europe, and 

 what a much greater height they attain. I might also point to the Cedars, and other 

 trees, but these few are sufficient to show the marked character of Himalayan vegeta- 

 tion. The following list is not intended to include all, but I think among them will 

 be found all or nearly all the principal species most worthy of general cultivation : 



JuNiPEiirs iiECCRVA — The Weeping JVe^xil Juniper. — This very beautiful weeping 

 evergi'een shrub has a character decided and peculiar to itself, and among a collection 

 of evergreens it never fails to catch the eye of the most careless observer ; and liow 

 can it be otherwise, if we picture to ourselves a shrub eight or ten feet high, (a very 

 common height now in England,) thickly set with branches all round, and every one, 

 from its summit to its base, pointing to the ground, the lower branches resting on the 

 ground. It is a more decided weeper than the Weeping Willow, our old favorite ; 

 and when its evergreen character is added to this, how much is its beauty enhanced. 

 In summer it assumes a beautiful vivid green, bearing a profusion of berries about 

 the size of peas, which ripen in the fall, and which add much to the beauty and 

 interest of the plant. Native country, Alps of Nepal and Cashmere. 



JuNiPERUs SQUAMATA. — A low, trailing bush, of distinct habits, retaining its beauti- 

 ful green appearance through the winter and spring months. Our native trailing 

 Juniper assumes in winter that unpleasant appearance I have already noticed. It is 

 perfectly hardy in the Middle States, which need not surprize us when we consider 

 that it comes from the Alps of Bootan and Nepal, at the elevation of ll,r )0 feet. 



Ji-xu'EKus Chixexsis — The Chinese Juniper — is a very beautiful shrub. In color 



* Continued from April number. 



