JULY. 321 



that witnesses this consequence of the multiplication of rail- 

 roads, consider the steam engine a blessing or a curse to the 

 human race ? 



The American Arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) is a north- 

 ern tree, hardly ever seen in the forests of Massachusetts, but 

 growing abundantly in Canada and the northern parts of the 

 United States. It is a small tree, seldom attaining more 

 than a foot in diameter, or rising above the height of 20 or 

 25 feet. The lateral branches are small, running up at an 

 acute angle with the trunk, and forming an exceedingly nar- 

 row and graceful spire. The greatest peculiarity of this and 

 other Arborvitaes is the flattened arrangement of the leaves, 

 appearing in rows and opposite pairs, so that the terminal 

 branch, invested by the leaves, and not the leaf itself, forms 

 this fan-like arrangement. The whole appears, as it were, a 

 large, flat, doubly pinnate leaf. The foliage of the Arbor- 

 vitEe has the flavor and the odor of tansy. 



There is often a certain irregularity in the shape of the 

 trunk of this tree, which is curved, and affected with oblong 

 swellings that take the direction of the larger roots. This 

 accident, however, does not diminish its value for ornamental 

 purposes, to many of which it is singularly adapted. Some 

 beautiful trees of this or a kindred species, in Mr. C. M. 

 Hovey's cottage enclosures, show how admirably they serve 

 both as a screen and an ornament to the grounds. These 

 trees, some standing alone, and others forming a row on the 

 east side of the house, are finely developed, and form a series 

 of elegant spires, that never fail to attract the attention of the 

 tasteful traveller. Objections are made to Arborvitae on ac- 

 count of the formality of its growth : but formality is hardly 

 a serious defect, when it is combined with that pleasing flex- 

 ibility of the branches, which characterizes this tree. Its 

 foliage, likewise, acquires a rusty hue in the winter ; but this 

 dinginess disappears in the opening of the year, when it as- 

 sumes a very lively tint of verdure. I can conceive of noth- 

 ing more beautiful for the enclosing of a rural cemetery, than 

 a belt of Arborvitass, standing their own width apart, and 

 connected by a wire-fence. The branches of the trees as 



VOL. XXII. NO. VII. 41 



