Trees, Shrubs and Vines 
towering shaft command an admiration beyond even 
that of the elm and oak. 
Pines are distinguished from all other conifers by the 
clustering of the leaves or needles in twos, threes, or 
fives, and the white pine is the only native species hav- 
ing them in fives. ‘This is strictly an American growth, 
reaching from Canada to Virginia, and attaining its 
fullest development around the Great Lakes. It is a 
kingly figure, this specimen of forest gianthood, and it 
will be a rare moment of experience when the reader 
first sees one that has attained its ideal ; and as he looks 
upon its almost sublime and unapproachable proportions 
he will be tempted to exclaim, ‘‘ There is but ove tree 
—the white pine! ”’ 
Red, yellow, and pitch pines have their utilities, but 
can never come into the charmed circle of cultivation, 
while botanists, who can find cause for praise where no 
one else can, are significantly silent regarding those two 
pitiable species, the Jersey scrub pine and the gray pine 
of the North. 
Our most popular spruce (a genus wherein the ‘‘ nee- 
dles’’ are four-sided, and grow thickly from all sides 
of the branch) is the now naturalized Norway spruce, 
recognized by its extremely long cones, and pendent 
branchlets hanging from the nearly horizontal arms. 
It is such a fine tree, and thrives so well under Ameri- 
can conditions, that it is becoming a little wearisome 
from its ubiquity. It is not generally known that our 
native white spruce (Ades alba), when large and luxuri- 
ant, is quite as decorative, with sometimes a silvery sheen 
that reminds one of a silver fir. The black spruce (4. 
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