EVERGREEN TREES. 77 



The Hemlock Spruce. Abies Canadensis. The hemlock, 

 common in all portions of our Union, possesses features of ele- 

 gance and beauty unlike that of any other hardy variety. When 

 standing alone, or on the outskirts of small groups, its dark yet 

 loose-looking foliage, hanging in pendulous tufts from its pecu- 

 liarly graceful, half-curving branches, renders the tree one of the 

 most ornamental, and suited to a place in decorating the grounds 

 of almost every residence. It is a tree that bears the shears well, 

 and is therefore adapted to hedge or screen planting. When 

 grown in the nursery, it is no more difficult to transplant than 

 other evergreens, although it has been declared very sensitive of 

 removal probably by those who had no experience except with 

 its removal from the woods. It is, as we have said, a beautiful 

 tree for the open lawn, but it lacks stateliness to adapt it for 

 position near the main residence or buildings. 



Arbor Vitve. Thuja. The American arbor vita; thuja 

 occidentalis frequently, and perhaps more generally, called white 

 cedar, is one of our most valuable evergreens. Of a regular 

 formal outline in its growth, from the young plant to the tree, 

 it can rarely be used in grouping ; but as a single point tree, or 

 for screen belts and hedges, it is one of the most desirable. It 

 may be grown to form a perfect wall or screen thirty or forty 

 feet high, and yet not spread at the base over four or five feet 

 broad. It is easily grown, and as it frequently throws out roots 

 from the stem and branches when covered with earth, in trans- 

 planting it is well to set it somewhat deeper than where it has 

 previously been grown. 



Of the varieties, a new one under the name of Hovey is prob- 

 ably the most compact, and of the best color ; but the Siberian 

 is a valuable one, growing very compact, and keeping its color 

 well in the winter season. Thuja ericoides is of a more delicate 

 foliage; sometimes browns badly in the winter, where fully 

 exposed to the sun ; while the Tom Thumb, sent out by Messrs, 



