108 THE CULTIVATED EVERGREENS 



hemlock is very ornamental, owing to the symmetrical arrange- 

 ment of its branches and to its tufted foliage. At this age it 

 is used for hedges, owing to its density of growth and ease of 

 shearing. It is very valuable for single specimens and if pruned 

 occasionally will maintain i^s branches well to the ground. If 

 planted with erect-growing conifers the hemlock will relieve 

 their stiff effect with its graceful drooping branches. It will 

 adapt itself well in shady places for undergrowth for other 

 trees and will grow in such situations better than any other 

 evergreen. For planting on northern exposures of bluffs and 

 ravines, the hemlock is most valuable. 



Abies halsamea, balsarfi fir, rarely exceeds fifty feet in height. 

 As an ornamental it has no special value, as it retains its beauty 

 only for the first fifteen years. During this period, when in 

 health and vigor, it is extremely beautiful, both in color and 

 form. Balsam fir should be employed in ornamental planting 

 rather as a filler and not as a permanent tree for later years, 

 as it loses its lower branches, has a sickly appearance, and 

 should then be removed. The balsam fir is easily propagated 

 from seed, which germinates freely. 



Abies concolor, white fir, is grown extensively for ornamental 

 purposes. It is perfectly hardy in all parts of the United States. 

 It grows in any kind of soil, but thrives best in a well-drained 

 clay or loam with a gravelly subsoil; it will not do well in low 

 or water-soaked, undrained ground. The color of the foliage 

 varies from a soft sea-green to a deep blue. Its stately, erect, 

 and spreading branches give this tree a strikingly noble char- 

 acter. The white fir withstands heat and drought well in the 

 Middle West. It grows from one hundred fifty to two hun- 

 dred fifty feet high and its trunk from three to six feet in 

 diameter. The seeds taken from the Colorado type are more 

 likely to germinate than those grown at the Pacific Coast. 



