458 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 297. 



been described in the columns of this journal (see vol. i., 

 p. 196). Charles X. is one of the best dark Lilacs, and 

 among newer kinds Louis Spiith is exceedingly promising. 

 Nurserymen offer a large number of named varieties of Lilac, 

 but the best colors can be obtained with the four mentioned. 

 The Lilac season, however, can be greatly prolonged by 

 the cultivation of several of the other species of the genus. 

 The earliest of all to flower is the north China Syringa ob- 

 lata. The ilowers of this valuable plant, which are lilac 

 color, are smaller than those of the best forms of S. vul- 

 garis ; they are extremely fragrant, however. The leaves, 

 which are thick and leathery, turn late in the autumn 

 to the most brilliant shades of crimson. S. pubescens 

 (see Garden and Forest, vol. i., pp. 222 and 414, and 

 vol. vi., p. 266) should be in every collection in the 

 northern states, where it thrives admirably. The flow- 

 ers are creamy white and pink, with long tubes, and 

 are borne in small compact clusters, which are produced, 

 however, in the greatest profusion, and the flowers are de- 

 lightfully fragrant. S. villosa is a stronger-growing and a 

 more vigorous plant, also from northern China. The flow- 

 ers are creamy white to light pink, and are borne in large 

 clusters, appearing after the flowers of the other Lilacs have 

 disappeared ; they emit a disagreeable odor. S. Chinensis, 

 which is intermediate in character between the ordinary 

 Lilac and the Persian Lilac, is one of the best of these 

 plants ; it flowers rather later than the common Lilac, and 

 produces immense clusters of purplish red and fragrant 

 flowers. It is a strong-growing erect shrub, and should 

 find a place in every garden. For a full account of the spe- 

 cies of Lilac, and illustrations of the least-known among 

 them, see Garden and Forest, vol. i., pp. 220, 521. — Ed.] 



The Pinetum at West Chester, Pennsylvania. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir,— Twenty years ago Mr. Josiah Hoopes, known to the 

 student of trees as the author of an excellent work on Coni- 

 fers, planted in connection with his nursery in West Chester, 

 in this state, a pinetum, with the view of testing the hardiness 

 and adaptability of his favorite plants to the climate of the 

 middle states. The collection, which was made as complete 

 as possible, was planted on the top of a hill somewhat pro- 

 tected by neighboring plantations, and in good, strong, well- 

 drained soil. No special care has been given to the plants, 

 and those which remain are standing in a thick sod of grass. 

 It is safe to assume, therefore, that the species which are still 

 represented in the collection are suited to our climate ; and as 

 a report on their condition and appearance may, perhaps, 

 interest the public, I shall endeavor to give a brief ac- 

 count of the collection for the benefit of your readers. 



Before describing the trees that are left standing, it will be 

 well to explain that all the species and varieties of Cupressus 

 have disappeared entirely, as have most of the south Euro- 

 pean, Indian, Mexican and South American species and their 

 varieties. With a few exceptions, all the Conifers of the Pacific 

 states of North America have succumbed to our cold winters 

 or moist summers. Few of the Pines which were planted 

 twenty years ago are left. The European Pinus sylvestris, P. 

 Austriaca and P. Laricio are alive, but have passed the 

 period of their greatest beauty and show signs of premature 

 decay. Pinus Strobus nivea has grown into a compact and 

 handsome plant, but the other forms of the White Pine have 

 disappeared, owing, perhaps, to the attacks of a new enemy, 

 which, Mr. Hoopes informs me. has destroyed many of the 

 White Pines in West Chester. P. monticola, its western rep- 

 resentative, has grown into a tall thin specimen some twenty 

 feet high, showing the thin lanky habit of this tree in cultiva- 

 tion, which is, however, one of the hardiest of the western 

 Pines here at the east, although as an ornamental tree it can- 

 not be compared with the native White Pine. Of the other 

 White Pines, the Stigar Pine, P. Lambertiana of California, 

 and P. excelsa of the Himalayas have disappeared, but the 

 collection still boasts, in perfect health and beauty, one of the 

 best specimens of P. Pence of south-eastern Europe which 

 can be found in cultivation — a narrow compact pyramid fif- 

 teen feet high and clothed with foliage to the ground. P. 

 densiflora, easily distinguished by the white terminal buds, is 

 eighteen feet high, wide-branched and covered with cones. 

 As an ornamental tree it is no better than the Austrian Pine 



and is inferior to our native Red Pine (P. resinosa) or 

 our northern Pitch Pine (P. rigidia), which we looked for in 

 vain. They appear to have succumbed, as have the fol- 

 lowing American species : P. palustris, P Sabiniana, P. 

 ffexilis, P. pungens, P. inops and P. taeda, while P. Korai- 

 ensis, of Corea, and P. Bungeana, of northern China, have 

 grown into remarkable specimens. The former, which is re- 

 lated to the Swiss Stone Pine, is represented by two or three 

 beautiful specimens twenty-five or thirty feet high, branched 

 to the ground, and of a deep and most perfect color. This 

 species appears to succeed wherever it has been planted in the 

 eastern states ; it is one of the handsomest and most distinct 

 of Pine-trees, while for small lawns and gardens it has the 

 advantage of growing to a height of only thirty or forty feet 

 and of holding on to its lower branches. Unlike our White 

 Pine, this species does not shed its leaves until the end of the 

 third or fourth year, so that it is denser and more leafy in ap- 

 pearance. So far as I have observed, Mr. Hoopes' specimen 

 of P. Bungeana has not its equal in cultivation. From the 

 base of the stem several branches turn up and form a dense 

 broad pyramid of great interest and beauty. It is usually as a 

 curiosity only that this Pine, which is absolutely hardy in east- 

 ern America, finds a place in collections, where its stout, 

 rigid pale green leaves and scaly bark always attract attention ; 

 but if it is fair to judge of its merits by the West Chester plant, 

 it should certainly be planted as an ornamental tree. 



Several Firs have grown into handsome trees, although it 

 should be remembered that a Fir twenty years old is at its best 

 as an ornamental tree, and that with greater age it too often 

 grows thin in the lower branches and loses much of the per- 

 fection of form which makes some young Firs beautiful ob- 

 jects. To the lover of rare trees the most interesting Fir in 

 the collection is a plant of Abies amabih's, of the Cascade 

 Mountains of Oregon and Washington. This plant has evi- 

 dently had a hard time in getting a start in life, but now looks 

 strong and vigorous and is about six feet high. Although dis- 

 covered by David Douglas more than sixty years ago, this tree 

 has remained one of the rarest of all the American Conifers 

 in cultivation, and it is only within the last few years that east- 

 ern nurserymen have been able to obtain a supply of seeds. 

 Mr. Hoopes' plant, small as it is, is perhaps the largest speci- 

 men in the eastern states. Abies amabilis, as it grows on the 

 Cascade Mountains, is one of the handsomest of its race, with 

 crowded leaves, dark green and lustrous on the upper surface 

 and silvery white on the lower, and large dark purple cones. 

 The arrangement of the leaves, crowded close together on the 

 upper side of the branches, resembles that of the leaves of A 

 Nordmanniana, which is in every respect a less beautiful tree. 

 Two or three handsome speci mens of theWhiteFirof the Sierras, 

 the Abies concolor of botanists, and in gardens variously 

 called A. Lowiana, A. lasiocarpa and A. Parsonsiana, bear 

 witness to the beauty and hardiness of this noble tree, 

 which is the only Pacific-coast Fir which is really satisfactory 

 in the eastern states. A. Nordmanniana, which has grown 

 taller than any other Fir in the collection, appears to be suffer- 

 ing from an overproduction of cones, and, moreover, is get- 

 ting thin near the ground, showing, what I have observed be- 

 fore, that in our climate it is only in early age that this tree is 

 really beautiful. A. Pinsapo, the Spanish Fir, which is not 

 usually considered very hardy or desirable here, is in perfect 

 condition and great beauty, and so ar« good specimens of 

 A. Cephalonica, A. Cilicica, one of the best of all Firs in 

 our climate, and A. Apollinis. A remarkably slender and 

 compact pyramidal form of the Fir of Europe, A. pecti- 

 nata, is one of the most noteworthy plants in the collection. 

 A. Sibirica already shows the loose habit and feeble lower 

 branches which appear to disfigure this tree in cultivation by 

 the time it has grown to be twenty feet high. 



Among the Spruces, Picea orientalis takes the lead in beauty 

 and vigor. This tree, so far as is possible to judge at this time, 

 is one of the handsomest and most satisfactory of all the ex- 

 otic Conifers which have been brought into our gardens ; it is 

 surprising that it has not become more common in this coun- 

 try. The Colorado Spruces, P. pungens and P. Engelmanni, 

 are in good condition ; indeed, the hardiness and vigor of these 

 two trees seem able to resist any sort of climate or soil thatcan 

 be found in the northern or middle states, although P. pungens, 

 or, as it is usually called, the Blue Spruce, has a way of losing 

 its lower branches, which indicates that its greatest beauty will 

 disappear before it reaches half its natural size. The Tide- 

 water Spruce of the north-west coast, P. Sitchensis, is ragged 

 and unsatisfactory, and appears to suffer from the cold of the 

 Pennsylvania winters and the long, hot, dry summers. On the 

 other hand, P. Smithiana, of the Himalayas, is in excellentcon- 

 dition, and promises to grow into a large and beautiful tree. 



