Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



towering shaft command an admiration beyond even 

 that of the elm and oak. 



Pines are distinguished from all other conifers by the 

 clustering of the leaves or needles in twos, threes, or 

 fives, and the white pine is the only native species hav- 

 ing them in fives. This is strictly an American growth, 

 reaching from Canada to Virginia, and attaining its 

 fullest development around the Great Lakes. It is a 

 kingly figure, this specimen of forest gianthood, and it 

 will be a rare moment of experience when the reader 

 first sees one that has attained its ideal ; and as he looks 

 upon its almost sublime and unapproachable proportions 

 he will be tempted to exclaim, " There is but one tree 

 the white pine ! ' ' 



Red, yellow, and pitch pines have their utilities, but 

 can never come into the charmed circle of cultivation, 

 while botanists, who can find cause for praise where no 

 one else can, are significantly silent regarding those two 

 pitiable species, the Jersey scrub pine and the gray pine 

 of the North. 



Our most popular spruce (a genus wherein the " nee- 

 dles M are four-sided, and grow thickly from all sides 

 of the branch) is the now naturalized Norway spruce, 

 recognized by its extremely long cones, and pendent 

 branchlets hanging from the nearly horizontal arms. 

 It is such a fine tree, and thrives so well under Ameri- 

 can conditions, that it is becoming a little wearisome 

 from its ubiquity. It is not generally known that our 

 native white spruce (Abies alba), when large and luxuri- 

 ant, is quite as decorative, with sometimes a silvery sheen 

 that reminds one of a silver fir. The black spruce (A. 



126 



