THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM 



47 



therefore, that the native trees should have a very large representa- 

 tion. They have been grouped for easy study, and can be found 

 with but little difficulty. x\mong the handsomest are the Oaks, 

 and they are particularly beautiful in the Arboretum, because 

 allowed to grow in a natural way. The Red Oak rears its huge 

 trunk from a bed of wild Asters, a natural forest floor in the Arbore- 

 tum grounds. 



Among the most interesting of the deciduous trees are the Maples, 

 a large collection of which may be found near the shrub garden. It 

 includes both native and foreign species. The fastigiate Sugar 

 Maple, Acer saccharum, var. columnare, is of particular interest to 

 landscape gardeners, as it can be used as a substitute for the more 

 short lived Lombardy Poplar. It is quite as pyramidal in form, 

 and handsomer in foliage, but of course does not grow nearly so 

 rapidly. This column-like Maple was first discovered in a Newton 

 cemetery, and whatever trees of the type exist at the present time 

 have come from this parent. 



Many visitors to the Arboretum find the pinetum the most 

 interesting feature of all. The pinetum is close to the Walter 

 Street gate. Among the notable trees to be found there is the 

 Carolina Hemlock, a native of the Blue Ridge, where it forms 

 extensive forests on high mountain slopes. It is one of the most 

 beautiful of the coniferous trees that are hardy and that can be 

 successfully grown in the northern states. The Carolina Hemlock 

 was first raised in the Arboretum more than thirty years ago. 

 Judging from the behavior of the tree, it may be placed among the 

 six most desirable conifers that can be planted in southern New 

 England, the others being the White Pine, the Red Pine, the North- 

 ern Hemlock, the White Fir of Colorado, and the Japanese Abies 

 brachyphylla. 



The last named fir, which is also called Ahics homolepis, is one of 

 the handsomest and most satisfactory of all the conifers which 

 Japan has sent to this country. It has dark green leaves, which are 

 silvery-white on the lower surface, and its cones are rather unusual 

 in color, being a violet purple. There is a tree in the Hunnewell 

 pinetum fifty-five feet high, with branches which sweep the ground, 

 and illustrate the beauty of the mature specimen. The Arbore- 

 tum trees are smaller, but already are producing their handsome 

 cones. 



