28 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



able for timber as the nearly related species, the Black Spruce 

 (Picea nigra), it is far more desirable for ornamental purposes 

 and should be in every collection. Individual seedlings can often 

 be found which are quite distinct in form and color, Maxwell's 

 Golden being a good example. 



The Norway Spruce (Picea excel sa), though a foreigner, has yet 

 become so common and is so perfectly at home with us that Ave 

 have come to regard it " as to the manor born." However common 

 and perhaps formal and monotonous when repeated in num- 

 bers, it is yet so hardy and vigorous in nearl}^ all soils ; so tine 

 in single specimens, with graceful, pendulous branches sweeping 

 to the ground ; so well adapted for hedge-rows or shelter l)elts, — 

 in short it has so many good qualities that it is not out-ranked by 

 any other conifer, for landscape work. It varies considerably in 

 hal)it and we have these sports perpetuated in such distinct forms 

 as P. inverta and P. pendula, or in grotesque habit like P. mon- 

 strosa, or as a dwarf like P. Clanhrasiliana, P. Gregoriana, and 

 P. pygmcea. 



Our White Pine (Pinus strobus) is probably the most profitable 

 of all trees for timber, in our light soils. It does not thrive in a 

 wet soil. But we have thousands of acres of comparativeh' waste 

 land which should be planted with this species, and it would be a 

 wise economy to give government encouragement to this industry. 

 For decorative purposes the White Pine is also valuable, its soft, 

 silvery green foliage furnishing a pleasing contrast with the more 

 rugged and darker growth of other species. 



The Bhotan Pine {Pinns excelsa) has longer, more graceful and 

 drooping leaves than the White Pine, but it is liable to blasting of 

 its leader and its branches. In other respects it is vigorous and 

 hardy and its superior beauty entitles it to an attempt to overcome 

 this tendency. 



The Austrian, the Scotch, and the Cembran or Swiss Stone 

 Pines are each well-deserving the general use which they receive. 

 They will not vie with the White Pine for timber use, though in 

 conditions where the older growth continues healtliy they will 

 liave value in this respect. 



The Red Pine {Pinvs resinosa), often, but incorrectly, called 

 Norway Pine, is a very hardy, native tree wliicii flourishes in a 

 dry, sandy soil, from the IMiddle States into Canada. Jij abounds 

 in resin, is of value for timl)er, and deserves a place in a collection^ 

 as an ornaniental tree. 



