FOREST ADORNMENT 
forests, however, the shrubbery attains 
its best development, for its presence 
depends largely upon moisture, climate, 
and soil, and these conditions are usu- 
ally most favorable in our broadleaf 
districts. In the latter, moreover, the 
shrubbery exercises its influence most 
efficiently, for many of the pines will 
bear a considerable amount of heat and 
drought, and several other conifers 
show their independence and a differ- 
ent kind of hardihood at high and 
humid elevations. The varied and 
beautiful forms of undergrowth in our 
broadleaf forests—the shrubs, the 
vines and graceful large ferns, and the 
smaller plants that live along the forest 
borders and penetrate within—may be 
regarded as one of the distinctive fea- 
tures of American forest scenery. 
69 
