COMPARATIVE VALUE OF EXOTIC CONIFERiE IN BRITAIN. 249 



as pei'fectly hardy in this country — a matter which is to be 

 regretted, for it is undoubtedly the handsomest of all the Hemlock 

 Spruces. There is a l)eautiful and fast-growing specimen in the 

 Red Lodge IsTursery at Southampton, which, for twenty-five years, 

 has made an annual upward growth of nearly 10 inches. The 

 branches are of easy arrangement, while the pendulous branchlets 

 ai'e thickly studded with inch-long leaves, glaucous on the under 

 side, and suffused with a milk-white bloom. Habitat, Nepaul 

 and Sikkim. Date of introduction uncertain. 



7. A. canadensis (Hemlock Spruce). — No evergreen tree or 

 shrub can excel this conifer for I'ichness of foliage or beauty of 

 outline ; and during spring or early summer the young, droop- 

 ing shoots of a lively yellowish-green contrast finely with the 

 dark sombre green of the older foliage, and form a combination 

 that for jjleasing eflect is certainly hard to match. An erroneous 

 opinion is gaining ground, that the Hemlock Spruce is not suited 

 for the climate of Britain ; even Loudon and Michaux have little 

 to say in its favour ; and as a veteran American Arboriculturist 

 some time ago remarked, English nurserymen have generally 

 followed suit by regai'ding the tree in a similar light. True it is 

 we have no such specimens as are recorded from " the far West," 

 and equally true is it that this spruce will not flourish and put 

 on its best garb when planted anywhere and anyhow with us, no 

 more than do the majority of foreign importations ; but treat the 

 Hemlock Spruce in a rational manner, and as its nature requires, 

 and it will ere long be found that few trees are more amenable to 

 cultivation, and, perhaps, none repay more fully the bestowal of 

 a little exti'a care and attention at the time of planting. Numerous 

 instances of the rapid growth of this conifer in the British Isles 

 might be adduced. A moist, deep, rich, but light soil and sheltered 

 situation are its chief requirements. 



Few trees in Britain attain the age or size at which the wood 

 is mature ; but specimens that have come under my notice might 

 be reckoned as second class in the pine list. The late Mr Speed, 

 gardener at Chatsworth, who had unusual opportunity of observ- 

 ing the tree and testing tlie quality of the wood, reported the 

 latter as hard and heavy. In its native country the wood, of 

 the Hemlock Spruce is not much in request, being coarse and 

 crooked grained, and liable to splinter. It is sawn into boards of 

 an inferior quality, adapted for mining purposes, flooring of 

 barns, wharves, and out-buildings. The bark is used for tanning 



