8o HAND-BOOK OF TREE-PLANTING. 



supposed to be a safeguard against insects inju- 

 rious to clothing. 



Our stock of native trees is so large that we 

 hardly need to seek any from abroad. And yet 

 some European trees of similar kinds to our own 

 are found to be of better quality than ours. 

 Some of the English oaks, elms, and birches are 

 better for some purposes than ours of the same 

 name. The European larch is better than the 

 American, and is to be preferred for planting 

 here. 



Among evergreens the Scotch pine (Pinus 

 sylvestris) has been noted for its rapid growth 

 and its adaptation to almost every variety of 

 soil, as well as for its valuable qualities as a tim- 

 ber-tree. It is a favorite tree in Europe. It has 

 not been growing with us for a sufficient time to 

 warrant a decisive opinion as to its merits. It 

 has seemed to give promise of being a valuable 

 accession to our list of trees. Latterly, however, 

 there has come up some distrust of it. Trees 

 which had previously grown well, and appeared 

 vigorous, on reaching the age of twenty-five or 

 thirty years have seemed speedily to lose their 

 vitality, and so there has begun to be doubt 



