4 



A WORD IN FAVOR OF EVERGREENS. 329 



it, beyond all question, the most graceful and beautiful evergreen 

 tree commonly grown in this country. In its wild haunts, by the 

 side of some steep mountain, or on the dark wooded banks of some 

 deep valley, it is most often a grand and picturesque tree ; when, as 

 in some parts of the northern States, it covers countless acres of wild 

 forest land, it becomes gloomy and monotonous. Hence, there are 

 few of our readers, unfamiliar as they are with it but in these 

 phases, who have the least idea of its striking beauty when grown 

 alone, in a smooth lawn, its branches extending freely on all sides, 

 and sweeping the ground, its loose spray and full feathery foliage 

 floating freely in the air, and its proportions full of the finest sym- 

 metry and harmony. For airy gracefulness, and the absence of that 

 stiffness more or less prevalent in most evergreens, we must be al- 

 lowed, therefore, to claim the first place for the hemlock, as a tree 

 for the lawn or park. 



Unfortunately, the hemlock has the reputation of being a diffi- 

 cult tree to transplant ; and though we have seen a thousand of 

 them removed with scarcely the loss of half a dozen plants, yet we 

 are bound to confess, that, with the ordinary rude handling of the 

 common gardener, it is often impatient of removal. The truth is, 

 all evergreens are far more tender in their roots than deciduous 

 trees. They will not bear that exposure to the sun and air, even for 

 a short period, which seems to have little effect upon most deciduous 

 trees. Once fairly dried and shrivelled, their roots are slow to re- 

 gain their former vital power, and the plant in consequence dies. 



This point well understood and guarded against, the hemlock is 

 by no means a difficult tree to remove from the nurseries.* When 

 taken from the woods, it is best done with a frozen ball of earth in 

 the winter; or, if the soil is sufficiently tenacious, with a damp 

 ball in the spring, as has lately been recommended by one of our 

 correspondents. 



Of all the well known pines, we give the preference to our native 

 WHITE PINE (Pinus strobus) for ornamental purposes. The soft 



* In the nurseries this, and other evergreens, over four feet, should be 

 regularly root pruned ; i. e., the longest roots shortened with a spade every 

 year. Treated thus, there is no difficulty whatever in removing trees of ten 

 or twelve feet high. 



