16 Plantings ifc, of Ornamental Trees. 



almost daily found with this dark-robed denizen of the an- 

 cient forest, it has also many redeeming qualities which 

 render it exceedingly valuable as an ornamental shrub ; chief- 

 est among which is — it is evergreen — and in the New England 

 States hardy evergreens are not so very numerous that we 

 can afford to exclude an indigenous shrub from our gardens, 

 though it possesses neither the novelty of its namesake of 

 Libanus, or the graceful elegance of the hemlock fir. An- 

 other property of this tree, is its unconquerable hardiness. It 

 stands on bleak exposed promontories of the sea, as may be 

 seen along the south shore of Massachusetts Bay, and indeed 

 almost every other shore on the eastern coast, braving the 

 summer's heat and winter's cold, where no other native 

 evergreen would find a foothold. This property renders it a 

 valuable shrub for forming a screen in exposed situations, 

 where other evergreens would perish. For hedges especially, 

 is this sturdy plant well adapted ; and it forms one of the 

 finest evergreen hedges that can be made. 



The despised condition of this tree, in New England, is 

 strikingly contrasted by the value in which it is held in 

 Europe. In England it is prized as a rare and interesting 

 shrub, by no means common, although found in almost every 

 collection of conifers. It is undoubtedly worthy of a place 

 in every shrubbery ; but it must be sparingly introduced and 

 managed cautiously, to form a happy harmony with the other 

 shrubs. Not more than one single tree should be planted in 

 one place, nor allowed to stand, if growing naturally there, 

 unless it be on a rocky point, or promontory of the sea ; and 

 then they ought to be thinned gradually, and other trees 

 planted among them, to break the funereal character with 

 which they otherwise invest the ground. 



A very similar train of emotions, but in a different degree, 

 is produced on the mind, by contemplating the falling 

 branches of weeping trees, recalling to the contemplative 

 mind, the drooping and downward progress of old age. The 

 dark green foliage of the weeping ash, — the drooping spray 

 and yellow color of the slender weeping willow, are meet 



