218 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



severity of the seasons, is beautiful at all periods, and espe- 

 cially so in winter ; for the picturesque forms which many 

 of them assume when fully grown, and for the effectual shel- 

 ter and protection which they afford in cold, bleak, and ex- 

 posed situations. We shall here particularize those species, 

 natives of either hemispheres, that are most valuable to the 

 planter, and are also capable of enduring the open air of the 

 middle states. 



The White Pine, (P. strobus,) called also Sapling Pine, 

 and Apple Pine, in various parts of this country, and Wey- 

 mouth Pine abroad, is undoubtedly the most beautiful North 

 American tree of the genus. The foliage is much lighter in 

 colour, more delicate in texture, and the whole tufting of the 

 leaves more airy and pleasing than that of the other species. 

 It is also beautiful in every stage of its growth, from a young 

 plant to a stately tree of 150 feet. When it grows in strong 

 soil, it becomes thick and compact in its head ; but its most 

 beautiful form is displayed when it stands in a dry and gra- 

 velly site ; there it shoots up with a majestic and stately 

 shaft, studded every six or eight feet with horizontal tiers of 

 branches and foliage. The hue of the leaves is much paler, 

 and less sombre than that of the other native sorts ; and be- 

 ing less stiffly set upon the branches, is more easily put in 

 motion by the wind : the murmuring of the wind among the 

 Pine tops is poetically thought to give out a rather melan- 

 choly sound : — 



" The Pines of Mosnalus were heard to mourn, 

 And sounds of wo along the grove were borne," 



says Virgil, speaking of the European Pine. But the mur- 

 mur of the slight breeze among the foliage of the White Pine 



