PYGMY TREES 



Both these Hemlocks are exceptionally useful garden 

 plants. 



The White Cedars (Chamaecyparis) and Arbor- 

 vitses (Thuja) supply our gardens with a majority 

 of the dwarf Conifers they enjoy. These and the 

 Junipers seem extraordinarily unstable in character 

 and when raised from seeds all sorts of abnormal 

 forms develop. Some ;have round, compact heads 

 only a foot or two high*, others grow into large glo- 

 bular masses and some into narrow pyramids. They 

 are of much value for the rockery, lawn, and for mak- 

 ing hedges. Many dozens of such forms have re- 

 ceived names, and specialists are often at fault in 

 determining their identity. Their number is legion, 

 and did I attempt to enumerate a tithe of them the 

 rest of this article would be a catalogue. The Arbor- 

 vitae of the eastern United States {Thuja occident- 

 alis) has been amazingly prolific in these seminal 

 variants a number of which are valuable dwarfs. 

 Among them the forms umbraculifera, recurva nana, 

 Tom Thumb, Woodwardii, Reedii, and Little Gem, are 

 of the best. The Chinese Arborvitae {T. orientalis), 

 which has been in cultivation in Europe since 1752, 

 has given rise to many abnormal forms parallel in 

 character to those of the native species but less hardy. 

 Of the common White Cedar {Chamaecyparis ihu- 

 joides) there are two pygmy varieties {ericoides and 



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