360 



CONIFERS 



CONIFERS 



which they soon become spindly; they thrive best on 

 loose, sandy soils, and can endure dry soils, the White 

 Pine adapting itself perhaps best to the clay soils with- 

 out detriment to its development. On wet soils pines 

 are, as a rule, decidedly out of place, although the Red 

 Pine {P. resinosa), of the north, and the Loblolly {P. 

 Tceda), and some other southern species are capable of 

 supporting such conditions. For such situations here, 

 however, the cedar tribe furnishes better material,— the 

 Chamascyparis, Thuyas and Taxodium. These trees of 

 the bog and swamp are, however— it should not be over- 

 looked—capable of thriving even better on drier soils. 

 They are merely indifferent to moisture conditions at 

 the foot. 



The shallow-rooted spruces are trees of the higher 

 mountain ranges, and are, therefore, more adapted to 



533. A lone field pine, remnant of a forest. 



moist and cool situations, although some of them, the 

 NoiTvay Spruce, the Blue Spruce of Colorado and the 

 northern White Spruce wOl— the former, at least, during 

 its juvenile period— endure more droughty situations. 

 The firs, too, are rather more species of northern 

 climates and high altitudes, the Red Fir, so-called 

 (Pseudotsuga taxifolia), which is not a fir proper, be- 

 ing, perhaps, best capable of supporting drier and hot- 

 ter situations. The most ornamental, and, in many re- 

 spects, most serviceable of the firs, Abies Nordmanni- 

 ana, from the Caucasus, develops its magnificent dense 

 and dark green foliage in the warm but moist climate of 

 Washington, whUe our most ornamental Abies conoolor 



from Colorado will thrive even in our drier atmos- 

 pheres of the Middle states. The fine firs of the Pacific 

 coast will probably not thrive anywhere in our drier and 

 hotter eastern climates for any length of time, unless 

 placed in cool and shady situations. 



The Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia) is, perhaps, 

 most readily acclimated if seed is secured from the dry 

 slopes of Colorado. The Lawson Cypress (Chanuscyp- 

 aris Lawsoniana) , with its graceful pendulous branches 

 and foliage, and the pyramidal Libocednis decurrens are 

 unquestionably desirable additions to our ornamental 

 stock, while the Sequoias, especially Washingtoniana, 

 the Big Tree, has shown itself capable of thriving in the 

 latitude of Rochester. 



One important feature which enters into consideration 

 when grouping Conifers, is the relative endurance of 

 shade or tolerance which the species exhibit, thereby 

 indicating their use in various positions. The yews and 

 firs are the most tolerant of shade, together with the hem- 

 locks; next may be placed the spruces, Arborvitse (Thuya), 

 and Juniperus, while the pines are mostly intolerant of 

 shade, excepting the White Pine, which is the most shade- 

 enduring of the pines ; the larch and the bald cypress 

 are the most light-needing of all, and will perish soon if 

 placed under the shade of any other trees. All species, 

 to be sure, are capable of more shade-endurance when 

 young and on deep, moist soil. Their relative shade-en- 

 durance under the same conditions remains, however, the 

 same, and may be studied in the forest by observing the 

 density of the individual crowns, the capacity of main- 

 taining a thrifty foliage under the shade of difl^erent 

 species, and especially of young plants to persist in 

 such shade. 



Propagation.— Most Conifers ripen their fruit in the 

 fall, September to November, and are best gathered soon 

 after or before ripening. The pines take two years to ma- 

 ture their cones. White Pines ripen fruit in the first two 

 weeks of September, and the cones opening, shed the 

 seeds at once, the empty cones remaining on the branches. 

 The cones of the firs fall apart upon ripening, hence 

 must be gathered before being quite ripe. Spruces and 

 hemlocks shed seeds from time to time, opening and 

 closing into next spring. Some pines, like Pinus pun- 

 gens and serotina, keep their cones closed for years, and 

 artificial heat must be employed to make them open and 

 give up their seed. In gathering seeds for the trade, such 

 artificial heat is frequently applied with pines in specially 

 constructed seed roasters ; such seed should be carefully 

 inspected, as it sometimes suffers from improper use of 

 the heat. 



The proportion of germinating seeds, and the vitality, 

 i. e., the ability of retaining germlnative power, varies 

 greatly not only with the seasons in the same species, 

 but from species to species. 



The lowest germination percentage and vitality is found 

 in firs and larch, which show rarely more than 50 per 

 cent of good seed, and soon lose their vitality, while 

 spruce and pine, when entirely fresh, may show as much 

 as 95 to 100 per cent germination, and retain vitality for 

 2 to 5 years, losing each year a proportion, Norway 

 Spruce 5 years old still having 10 per cent germination. 



In trade, a germination percentage for spruce of 75 to 

 80; pine, 70 to 75; fir, 30 to 50; larch, 20 to 40, should be 

 acceptable. 



Seeds are best kept in a dry, cool garret in tight bags 

 or boxes, excluding the air as much as possible. 



All seeds require a short rest or after-ripening of two 

 to four weeks before they are ready to germinate, and 

 some, like the Taxus and Juniper, lie over, even in nature, 

 for a year or more before they germinate. The latter 

 should be prepared for sowing by macerating them, and 

 removing the pulp in hot water, then mixing with sharp 

 sand In bags, and by friction freeing the seed from the 

 pulp. 



In the seed-bed somewhat more care is required than 

 with most other species of trees. A thoroughly mellow, 

 well pulverized seed-bed of light, loamy sand, possibly 

 enriched with well decomposed manure (cow-dung better 

 than horse-dung), is required, the covering of the seed 

 varying, according to size, from a mere sprinkling for 

 larch to one-quarter inch for the heavy-seeded pines. 

 They may be sown as soon as the weather is settled, in 

 northern latitudes the second or third week in May, best 



