362 



Tlie Horticulturist and Joanial 



Evergreens. 



Ah Address, hy S. li. fitrsous, before the Rural 

 Club of New York, November lii, 1874, 



Ladies and Gentlemen of the Rural Club : 



SOME time ago I had occasion to discourse 

 to you upon jewelry and hardware — the 

 precious and the common among trees and 

 plants. 



I spoke more particularly of the deciduous, 

 and. only glanced at evergreens. I could not 

 approach them., save with reluctant steps, for 

 we were then gathering up our dead from the 

 worst battle field they had ever known — a 

 battle field where insect combatants were not, 

 but where two powerful conquerors — fi'ost and 

 sun — had slain their victims by thousands. 



That battle, however, being over, the recu- 

 perative powers of the past two years have 

 restored us much of the old beauty, although 

 we miss still the forms of many friends who 

 were once our pride and joy. 



We learn to look upon that disaster as an 

 accident — as an unusual diversion of the forces 

 of nature. A house may be destroyed by 

 lightning, but we do not hesitate to build 

 another. So we go on now, gathering around 

 us all that is beautiful in nature, while art 

 lends its aid in the grouping and coloring. 



The jeweller, before setting his diamond, 

 prepares for it the more gross material ; so I 

 will endeavor to present to you, by their com- 

 mon names, as far as possible, first those ever- 

 greens which are valuable for a ground work, 

 although deficient in the qualities requisite for 

 the best effects when planted singly. 



Plantinff. — Assuming that you have a 

 lawn of several acres, the first effort will be 

 to plant its outside lines so thickly as to hide 

 it from the outer world and give it that retiracy 

 which is the charm of a country home. 



For immediate effect, the trees used for this 

 purpose should be about ten feet apart, pro- 

 vided the planter has nerve enough to trans- 

 plant or cut them down when they interfere 

 with each other. 



For this purpose, among the best will be 

 found the Nornmy Spruce. 



This tree transplants well, grows rapidly, 

 and when small is one of the most beautiful 

 of trees. Its beauty loses, however, after ten 

 feet ; often looks well at twenty ; and from 

 twenty to forty feet frequently becomes so 

 rusty, thin and ill-favored that it is worthy 

 only of the axe. Occasionally, however, I 

 have seen a single specimen, or perhaps a 

 whole belt, preserve its thickness and thrifti- 

 ness even to fifty or sixty feet. These are 

 only exceptions ; unthriftiness, when large, is 

 the rule. 



When small, the young growth is luxuriant 

 and the pendant form of the soft wood gives 

 it a very graceful appearance. The Norway 

 Spruce cannot be dispensed with for any form 

 of planting. 



While transplanting easily, under favorable 

 circumstances, its roots are very impatient of 

 cold winds, and ten minutes exposure of them 

 to such, even if not freezing, ai'e sufficient to 

 kill the tree. 



For this ground work the Austrian Fine 

 and the Sco/c/i Fir come next in order by 

 their compactness, rapid growth and patience 

 of pruning where interference occurs. The 

 bright green of the former and the bluish tint 

 of the latter, form a marked contrast. For 

 single specimens, the Austrian Pine will also 

 be entitled to a prominent place. 



Next will come the graceful and refined 

 Hemlock, a native of our own forests, and suc- 

 ceeding much better when planted among 

 other trees. However fine in its native hab- 

 itat, it here loses its beauty as it becomes 

 larger. This can be retained, however, by 

 judicious trimming. No tree, not even the 

 Yew or Arbor Vitae, bears the shears better, 

 or is better adapted to the topiary or artificial 

 style. 



The Wliite Pine will come next for this 

 ground work, although the wide spread of its 

 branches better adapt it for positions where 

 more room can be given. This is the noblest 

 of all the Pines ; rich, feathery and majestic 

 it towers above them all, and the music of its 

 leaves gives a charm possessed by no other tree. 



