LANDSCAPE FORESTRY 233 



and no enemies as an ornamental tree, and no coniferous 

 wood can be said to be complete without it. 



THE SPRUCE. 



The spruce tribe have a good effect in ornamental wood- 

 lands, when planted on steep slopes, or the sides or bottoms 

 ^of ravines, where the conical and regularly shaped crowns rise 

 one above the other in serried ranks, On flat ground they 

 are probably most ornamental when young, well clothed with 

 branches to the ground, and symmetrical in shape ; and 

 a few spruce amongst or under Scots fir have often a good 

 effect. When old and mature, spruce can only be termed 

 ornamental when in perfect health, and clothed with branches 

 to the ground, or standing close enough together for its tall 

 clean stems to produce an effect in themselves. Good speci- 

 mens in the former condition are often beautiful examples 

 of the more symmetrical type of conifer, and, when standing 

 in the bottom of a valley where their entire length can 

 be seen from above, and properly appreciated, they are 

 probably as ornamental as any conifer that can be grown in 

 Great Britain. 



When once the spruce begins to lose its health and 

 vigour, all its attractions disappear, for it is seldom a 

 picturesque tree, or one which age and decay render more 

 worthy of admiration. Occasionally, however, a spruce may 

 be seen which has lost its leader early in life, or been over- 

 turned by the wind and allowed to remain. Such a tree 

 will often develop a group of leaders instead of the ordinary 

 single one, and, although of little use as timber, affords a 

 pleasing variety to the normal type, and a picturesque detail 

 in the wood. 



As a general rule, the spruce should be confined to small 

 groups, or be scattered about singly in exceptionally suitable 

 spots, such as old quarries, damp hollows, or beneath the 

 shade of old Scots fir or other trees, where a little youth and 

 vigour afford variety, and where it can be removed when the 

 ornamental stage is passed, which is usually by the thirtieth 

 year. Few trees are more ugly than an isolated middle-aged 



