TREES AND SHRUBS 161 



Representatives of all the chief genera of coni- 

 fers have a recognized place among ornamental 

 trees and are everywhere popular in cold 

 climates. The variations among the different 

 species are so obvious as to attract the attention 

 of the least observant. And the opportunity to 

 develop any fixed new form is correspondingly 

 good. 



I have raised large numbers of conifers of 

 many species, and have experimented with them 

 in the way of selection, producing in some 

 cases varieties of considerable interest; for ex- 

 ample, several beautiful varieties of the various 

 Abies,, including some very conspicuous forms 

 with weeping foliage; also some that grew 

 very compactly, being strikingly different in 

 appearance from the usual spruce with its long 

 branches. 



Variations in the color of foliage have also 

 been given attention and have observed varia- 

 tions from bud sports in the wild specimens of 

 A. Douglasi and A. amabilis that were of inter- 

 est. In particular I have seen a single branch 

 in a wild species (a bud sport) that would droop 

 several feet below all the other branches. Such 

 a branch may generally be propagated by graft- 

 ing or from cuttings, and trees having this habit 

 may thus be developed. There are numerous 



F Bur. Vol. 8 



