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and unsightly. The tree also loses its lower branches early 

 and becomes thin and open and has proven itself short-lived, 

 in prairie planting. Nurserymen generally do not aim to 

 propagate this tree but it is often found as a mixture in 

 White spruce as they are difficult to detect when the young 

 seedlings are dug from the forest. Hence some prefer to 

 raise White spruce from seed. 



A. Norby, Madison, S. D., writes: "The Black spruce I 

 got for White spruce some eighteen years ago. When about 

 eighteen feet high they were leaning over to the north and 

 looked ragged. All are now gone/' 



Colorado Blue Spruce., 



Colorado Blue Spruce. Silver Spruce. (Picea 

 pungens, Engelm; Picea Parryana, Barren.). This is gener- 

 ally acknowledged in Europe as well as America to be the 

 most beautiful of all spruces and indeed one of the most orna- 

 mental of the whole conifer family. It is found native in 

 the mountains of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. It attains 

 large size in exposed situations in its native home. 

 The seedlings vary greatly in color, varying from dark green 

 to light silvery blue. The blue specimens are much higher in 

 price and have become very popular in Europe, where selected 

 blue varieties are propagated by grafting on Norway spruce 

 seedlings. These selected blue specimens have in Europe 

 been named Picea pungens glauca and Picea pungens argentea. 

 Grafting is resorted to because the blue trees do not come 

 true to seed. So far in America, at least in the western 

 states, we content ourselves by digging up the young seed- 

 lings upon the mountains of Colorado and by raising seed- 

 lings from seed gathered from the best blue trees, a fair per 

 cent of which will give blue seedlings. The green-leaved 

 specimens are also worthy of planting, but have not the peer- 

 less beauty of the silvery specimens which appear as though 

 dipped in a bath of molten silver, especially when the young 

 growth has just formed for the season. At that time, in fact, 



