130 ARISTOCRATS OF THE GARDEN 



attained wide popularity both in this country and in 

 Europe. One of the commonest of these is an Arbor- 

 vitae, usually known as Retinispora obtusa nana and 

 correctly as Chamaecyparis obtusa, var. nana. These 

 dwarfed trees are the outcome of Japanese gardeners' 

 skill and this variety is of garden origin ; but the type 

 (C. obtusa) is one of the loftiest and most valuable of 

 Japanese forest trees. At maturity it is one hundred 

 and fifty feet and more tall, with a large clean trunk and 

 wide-spreading branches forming a rounded or flat- 

 tened crown; but in a young state the branches are 

 slender and flat and spread horizontally; the outline 

 is narrow pyramidal and the effect light and graceful. 

 The leaves are dark green. This beautiful Conifer is 

 perfectly hardy in New England and nurserymen 

 would do well to procure a stock of seeds and raise it 

 in quantity. In Japan it is very extensively used for 

 reafforestation. Its close ally (C. pisifera) is equally 

 hardy and, when young, very distinct with its ascend- 

 ing-spreading, rather plumose branches. At maturity, 

 however, it is not easily distinguished from C. obtusa, 

 which it equals in size and approximates in the value 

 of its timber. 



Like other Arborvitaes the Japanese kinds have 

 given rise to numerous forms variegated and other- 

 wise. Those of C. obtusa are all low-growing, but 



