358 



ARBORICULTURE 



trw, suitable for narrow streets in the heart of a 



^^wre'us alba (white oak). A most pictiirosqvic tree, 

 :itt:uning the hu-Rest size. The gom of .Vinonciin trees 

 ami not si> slow-srowins: iui usually oousulered Dead 

 leaves hang on most of tlic winter. Figs. ,51.3, .i'-'-. 



Quercus hicolor (swiunp white oak). A large, handsome 

 oak of moderat<>lv rapid growth, suited to moist situa- 

 tions It swins to suooeed under city conditions. A 

 desirable shailc tree, ahnost :is handsome as the white 

 oak and a little faster grower. , , .^ tu 



Qiurcus coccinea (scarlet oak). Comparable to the 

 rvxl o!ik but not quite so sturdy and vigorous under all 

 conditions, but with a little more brUhant autumn 

 coloring and leaves more finely cut. , , ^, . , 



Querctis laurifolia (laurel oak, water oak), the stand- 

 ard street tree for the South. A large, handsome, 

 deciduous tree, not so desirable as the hve oak, but ot 

 more rapid growth. , r ^u- 



Quercus ^fichauxii (cow oak). A good oak for thin 

 gravelly lands. Not so desirable as the other oaks on 



v**.; 



318. Spanish Fir.— Abies Pinsapo, showing the verdure 

 from top to base. 



good ground and not adapted to the extreme northern 

 sections. , , , 



Quercus macrocarpa (mossy-cup oak). A handsome 

 and satisfactory tree, not so large as some of the others. 

 One of the most promising for the plains. . . , 



Quercus nigra (possum oak, water oak). Another 

 eood oak south of Norfolk. A little more upright in 

 growth than Q. hiurifolia, but not quite so desirable 

 except possibly in its more northern limits. 



Quercus paluslris (pin oak). A quick-growing, good- 

 sized tree, with pendulous branches when old. Hand- 

 some cut leaves, brilliant in autumn. One of the best. 

 Ite pendulous branches may sometimes be a rather 

 serious objection. Dead leaves hang on well into the 

 winter. Fig. 323. 



Qwrrcus phellos (willow oak). A large, handsome tree, 

 moderately fast-growing, satisfactory south of Wash- 

 ington in regions in which it is not attacked by a 

 growth resembling "witches' broom" of the celtis. 



Quercus rutxra (red oak). Ahnost the best street tree. 

 Large, symmetrical, rapid in growth, fine autumn foli- 

 age, heaxi not too dense. It is exceeded only by the 

 ehn in rapidity of growth among the trees suited tor 

 street planting and not by that in the southern half ot 

 the country. _, 



Quercus virginvxna Give oak) . A large evergreen^ 1 he 



best street tree for the South, but slower in growth than 



Q. laurifoli/i. . 



SUrculia plaUmifolia (varnish tree). A small tree ot 



reasonably rapid growth bearing bright yeUow flowers. 



ARBORICULTURE 



It has a tropical suggestion. Good only for the_ South 

 and its principal value is in its possibiUties for the 

 Southwest, especially .semi-arid Texas. ,. , , . 



7'(7):ii (iiiicriaina (basswood, American linden). A 

 large, handsome, quick-growing tree. Young trees are 

 sometimes affected bv a disease at the base of the trunk, 

 but the tree is well worth growing except in regions 

 in which the difficultv is known to bo present. 



Vliiius amcricaud (elm, white elm). The shade tree of 

 New England and deservedly ranked first there. It 

 loses its preeminence as one goes from New England, but 

 a large quick-growing tree worth using except in the 

 extreme South. Drops its foliage too early to be the 

 ideal shade tree in the middle states and southward. 

 It is subject to the attacks of the elm-leaf beetle in 

 regions in which that has been introduced. 



F. L. MULFORD. 



The conifers in particular. 



The cone-bearing trees (Pinacca- and alUes) are 

 decidedly the most important order of forest trees in 

 the economy of civilized man. They have furnished l;he 

 bulk of the material of which our civihzation is built. 

 The remarkable combination of strength and stittness 

 with the smallest weight compatible, and the abundance 

 and gregariousness of their occurrence, give them this 

 important position. . , ■ ^ ^i. 



From the standpoint of the horticulturist, the coni- 

 fers also take a prominent place among the materials 

 for landscape gardening effects, and, in the more practi- 

 cal use, as windbreaks. Their evergreen habit— for all 

 except the larch and ginkgo tribes are evergreen--and 

 their conical form, especially in earlier periods ot hte, 

 with a branch system persisting to the base for a long 

 time, are the elements that make them desirable. 

 To these graces may be added the peculiar form a,nd 

 striking coloring of their foliage, which, in combination 

 with deciduous trees or in clumps by themselves, or m 

 single specimens, offer striking effects. , . , . 



There are two types of natural or native beauty in the 

 conifers— the symmetrical and verdurous beauty of the 

 young specimen (Figs. 318, 319), and the picturesque 

 and rugged beauty of the old and timewom tree (iigs. 

 315-317). Aside from these, there are also odd, gro- 

 tesque and formal cultivated varieties, as typihed in 

 the weeping spruce (Fig. 320), the columnar jumpers, 

 and the various dwarf pines and spruces. 



The majority of the species belonging to this group, 

 as well as their greatest numerical development, is 

 found in the temperate zones, only a few belonging to 

 subtropical or tropical countries, among which are the 

 araucarias, from South America; the dammara, dac- 

 rydium, and phyllocladus, from Austraha, and neigh- 

 borhood. 



Kinds and adaptations. 



The order Conifers comprises nearly 40 genera, and 

 about 300 species. Our own native flora, with 15 genera 

 and not less than 100 species and subspecies, is among 

 the richest, the bulk of these being found on the Paeifac 

 coast The Altantic side offers 28 sijecies, representing 

 the genus Pinus with 12 species out of 39; 1 Larix out 

 of 3; 3 Piceas out of 7; 2 Tsugas out of 5; 2 Abies out 

 of 12; 1 Taxodium; 1 Thuja out of 2; 1 Chama-cyparis 

 out of 3;' 3 Juniperus out of 11 ; 1 Tumion (Torreya) out 

 of 2- 1 arborescent Taxus out of 2; being without repre- 

 sentatives of the genus Pseudotsuga Sequoia, Libo- 

 cedrus, and Cupressus. There are to be added a large 

 number (not less than 400) of nurserymen s variet_ies 

 some of which have been enumerated in Bulletin 1 - ol 

 the Division of Forestry, United States Department 

 of Agriculture. " .f »u » 



There are also a number of exotic comfers that 

 promise satisfactory results if used in suitab e locaU- 

 ties, climate and soil. The Norway spruce {Picea ex- 



