EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 555 



that the latter can scarcely be seen. The upper side of the leaf is 

 a dark green, the under side lined with white, giving the foliage a 

 bluish-gray tone. The growth is slow and compact when young, 

 and the tree has been found quite hardy in the eastern States. Mr. 

 Downing, writing from England, described the specimens seen there 

 as the most majestic of evergreens. The best specimens we have 

 seen spread upon the ground with more breadth than height. 

 Probably they had not yet reached the age of most rapid upward 

 growth. When larger the branches are in whorls, disposing the 

 foliage into strata, so that it lies in masses, says a recent writer, 

 " almost as level as Utrecht velvet." 



This, after the P. nordmaniana, is doubtless the most valuable 

 of the newer evergreens of the Picea family. 



THE GREAT SILVER FIR. Picea grandis. This is another of 

 the giant trees of the Pacific slope. It bears a striking resemblance 

 to the common European silver fir, but has rather longer and, per- 

 haps, lighter-colored leaves. The branches are regularly disposed 

 in whorls, and the foliage lies in thin layers. We believe its growth 

 will prove too rank and monotonously symmetrical to become a val- 

 uable tree for small grounds. 



PARSONS' SILVER FIR. Picea grandis Parsonii. This is sup- 

 posed to be a sport of the Picea grandis, originating in the grounds 

 of Messrs. Parsons & Co., of Flushing, N. Y. It is certainly the 

 most exquisite young tree of the silver fir type that we have seen ; 

 exceeding all others in the length of its leaves, and the soft shadings 

 of their warm-toned layers. It bears a similar relationship to other 

 Piceas that the exquisite Bhotan pine does to the pines. The new 

 twigs are small and yellowish-brown ; older wood, slate-colored. 

 The trunk enlarges rapidly near the base like a cypress. 



Low's SILVER FIR. Picea lowiana (P. lasciocarpa). This 

 fine species differs from the common silver fir and the Picea gran- 

 dis principally in the greater length of its leaves, which are arranged 

 on the sides of the twigs in two level lines as flatly as if they had 

 all been ironed out ; and also in their paler color, the more slender 



