December 29. 1900 



HOKTICULTURE, 



7i; 



Ornamental Conifers — Pinus 



I'lNLS DKNSll l.Ol; A COMI'ACTA 



Pinos arc among tlie oldest trees inhabiting our 

 globe; the prints of some are found in the rocks of the 

 Jurassic and Tertiary ages. The foliage is so different 

 from any other conit'ers that nobody can fail to recog- 

 nize them. They are aiiujiig llie most useful trees for 

 their economical as ucll as (irnainental value and are 

 really nice trees wl.eii well-grown. They are found 

 in natiirc in all kinds of situations, some in sand, some 

 in swanijis. from the highest altitude to the low pond, 

 from a small bush tn very i)ig trees. 



Pines are botaiiiially classified in different sections 

 nowadays, but for mir |iur])ose the old classification of 

 two, three and five needles in a bunch, is good enough. 

 There are over seventy d liferent species known and ac- 

 cording to a cheek list of the Division of P^orestry of the 

 TJ. S. Department of Agriculture about forty are found 

 in the States; they have all more or less ornamental 

 value; some are not hardy in New England or do not 

 grow well on account of climatic conditions. I will 

 mention only those which succeed best. 



PINUS WITH TWO NEICDLES IN A BUNCH 



Banksiana or divaricata, from the northern part of 

 America. This is the pine which grows the farthest 

 north. It is not a particularly handsome tree. The 

 branches, which grow long and irregularly, are covered 

 ■with short twisted needles of a light green color. Tt is 

 a small growing tree which will succeed in the most 

 exposed situation when many others would not stand. 



Inops or Virginica, the scrub pine of the Atlantic 

 States, is generally known as a dwarf ramifiated shrub- 

 bery tree, but is found in tree form on the western side 

 of the Alleghanies. It is a useful little tree to cover 

 slopes where no obstruction to the view is wanted. 



Muricata, from California, is a tree of peculiar dark 

 green color of pictwresriue irregular growth and of 

 small size, the needles long, rigid, and recurved. 



Pimgens is an eastern tree of irregular growth ; some 

 of the branches grow big. some short, the. needles are 

 rigid, short and a little twisted : resembles Banksiana. 



Uesinosa, the red pine of the northern states, looks 

 much like the well-known .\ustrian pine, having the 

 same symmetrical growth, but stouter, and the needles 

 are softer. All the pines of the Austrian type whea 



young look so mucli alike thai there is not niucli differ- 

 I'uce in their decorative value. 



From Europe, the best known is sylvcsiris, the 

 fecotch pine, which is much used for big phiutatione. 

 There are varying forms of forestry value whieli grow in 

 dillerent parts of Europe ))ut they are of no horticul- 

 tural interest; the best garden forms arc syivestris ar- 

 gentea var. which has tlie normal growth, but the points 

 of the needles arc ivory wliite; syl. aurea, which has 

 pronounced yellow foliage with normal growth; syl. 

 compacta, syl. imbricata, and syl. Benoronensis, the 

 three last names being dwarf compact growing bushes. 



Laricio and its forms from south Europe are not very 

 hardy here, but the more northern form, L. Austriaca 

 nigra, is well known for its healthy dark green color 

 and symmetrical form. 



L. Pallasiana or tauriea grows like Austriaca; the 

 needles are longer and sometimes twisted; they are all 

 fine tri-es which require space to grow. 



Montana, better known as Mughus. There is very 

 little difference between this tree and the American 

 fnops and they are often taken one for the other. Mon- 

 tana is of a more spreading haiiit and the needles are 

 more twisted. 1'here is a form growing in the southern 

 part of Europe which takes the shape of a tree and is 

 then called uncinata. 



Massoniana or Thunbergii is a Japanese tree which 

 looks much like the Austrian pine, with longer unsym- 

 metrical branches. It is more curious than beautiful 

 and is not very hardy. In Japan it is cut back and 

 twisted into all kinds of forms. 



Densiflora, another Japanese pine, the best of the two, 

 grows to a bushy pyramid not unlike the white pine, 

 and has the finest needles of all the two-needled pines. 

 it is of light green color and a very graceful tree. There 

 are a few garden forms, introduced from Japan. D. 

 compacta grows to a big compact spherical form. D. 

 l)undula is a very interesting weeping form and a free 

 grower. D aurea and Y). argentea var., the Sunray 

 pines, have their needles transversally variegated with 

 green and yellow or white \vith a beautiful effect. D. 

 aurea takes a golden color in the fall. These three last 

 (mes are a little delicate and want good protected situa- 

 tions. They often lose their needles in winter on ac- 

 count of the yellow and white variegations which freeze, 

 but they grow again in the spring. 



PINUS WITH THRKE NEI?DI.ES IN A BUNCH 



Most of the three-needled pines are not hardy here 

 or are bad growers. The few that succeed well are : 



Ponderosa, also called Benthamiana, is a large grow- 

 ing tree found over the greater part of all the western 

 and southwestern states: it has long, rigid, slightly 

 twisted needles. It varies more than any other Ameri- 

 can pines on account of its wide range and the difference 

 (if clinuite where it is found. It is one of the most 

 distinct trees for the lawn, slow to grow at the begin- 

 ning, but once established makes good growth and its 

 long, strong needles give it a special attractiveness, 

 .letfreyi is one of its numerous t"orms. 



Uigida, the pitch pine of the eastern slates, is a nice 

 lumpaet, straight growing tree, with not very long 

 needles of grass-green color. 



Tajda, another common pine of the Atlantic States, 

 has short needles like rigida which it much resembles. 



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(To be roniinued.) 



