Evergreens 99 



and resulting in a forbidding gloom, that is largely the cause 

 of the prejudice which some cherish towards evergreens as a 

 class. 



It is quite as possible to group eflfectively and still secure pro- 

 tection, or shut out objectionable features, as it is to plant in 

 rows to do so — and in the former case a definite interest is 

 created, a bit of true landscape is formed, so that the utilitarian 

 is lost sight of completely in the end. Nevertheless the reason 

 for planting existed and continues to exist, though it is not 

 apparent to the observer. 



Fancy varieties of a tree are seldom worth while, whether 

 evergreen or deciduous — and this can never be emphasized too 

 much. With evergreens particularly, the temptation to indulge 

 in some of the many novelties is constantly before the unwary 

 and the true types or natural forms are almost lost sight of. 

 Horticultural forms may be interesting in themselves, but re- 

 member that it takes something with a greater claim to con- 

 sideration than "interest" to build up a beautiful picture. 

 The very quality too that makes them interesting when they 

 are a novelty, is usually the very thing that makes them tiresome 

 when the novelty has worn off. So on the whole it is the ordi- 

 nary and accustomed variety which wisdom will select. 



Nothing is more beautiful than the familiar white pine, which 

 is native over such an extended area of the United States^ 

 and which will grow practically everywhere ; so what excuse is 

 there for using a novelty in place of it? No novelty can have 

 withstood the test of generations as the native has — if it had it 

 would no longer be a novelty — and the weaknesses it may 

 develop cannot even be conjectured. The changes which age 

 will bring to it are likewise a matter of guesswork. For there 

 are two distinct forms in the life of the majority of the cone- 



