EVERGREENS FOR HEDGES. / 



Note. I do not know of anyone in America 

 better qualified to speak on evergreens than Samuel 

 Parsons, Jr. I think so highly of a brief essay from 

 his pen on Japanese evergreens that I shall close this 

 section by copying the same. While it is not strictly 

 a discussion of hedges, it will give precisely that 

 information which will be sought for by those who 

 desire to experiment with some of the more rare and 

 beautiful of these trees. "Abies polita, the tiger-tail 

 spruce, is one of the finest and most valuable of the 

 Japanese conifers. It is rich and very characteristic 

 in form. The yellow-barked branches extend out 

 stiff and straight, and the glossy, bright green, stiff- 

 pointed leaves are as sharp and not unlike the spines 

 of a hedgehog. The curious appearance of the ends 

 of the young growth or half bursting leaf buds 

 doubtless suggested the name, tiger-tail spruce. 

 Abies polita grows slowly and, therefore, belongs to 

 the class of evergreens specially fitted for small 

 places. But this little cluster of evergreens close by 

 is even better fitted for such work. They are Jap- 

 anese junipers, and very hardy. Their elegant forms 

 and rich tints would indeed render them distin- 

 guished anywhere. One is silvery, at least on a 

 portion of its leaves ; another is almost solid gold, and 

 another (Juniperus aurea variegata) has its leaves 

 simply tipped with gold in the daintiest fashion 

 imaginable. 



"Let us look at these two Japanese pines that 

 show so richly, even at a little distance. One is 

 Finns densiflora, with bright green leaves, long and 

 very effective. This tree grows very rapidly, soon 

 requiring the application of the pruning knife. In 



