Cbofce Urees an& Sbrubs 331 



northern part of New York or Massachusetts suits it 

 better than Washington, D. C. Moreover, when it 

 becomes old, it is not always attractive in colour and 

 form. 



The white spruce is better and succeeds in more 

 places, but even it has its favourite spots, and they are 

 not so far north as those suited to the Norway spruce. 

 The attractive lighter shades of the white spruce form 

 another of its attractions, but for really fine blue tints it 

 is necessary to go to the real blue spruces, Picea pungens 

 or Picea engelmani. They are the richest of all the blue 

 spruces. The most intensely blue are the grafted plants 

 of Picea pungens, but seedlings are more symmetrical 

 and make finer trees when fully developed, although 

 some of them do not show as deep a shade of blue and 

 silver. A hardy and picturesque dark fir is Picea 

 omorica, and although there are many other firs, 

 hardly any others than those mentioned can be said 

 to be satisfactory in the climate of the Middle States of 

 the United States. In many parts of Great Britain 

 many others do well. The spruces (Piceas) have great 

 value in landscape gardening. The Norway spruce is 

 well known everywhere and its towering form and rapid 

 growth are always fine. As already noted, it has not the 

 beauty, however, of some other kinds and is a little 

 more liable to disease in North America. An instance 

 of a superior kind is the oriental spruce (Picea orien- 

 talis). This might be termed a highly refined Norway 

 spruce. It is hardier, has richer, more closely set 

 foliage, most beautiful colour, and often retains its 



