THE CHURCHYARD. 301 



best authorities, Oladrastis tinctoria). It is the most cheer- 

 ful tree on the grounds, and, moreover, though rare, an 

 American plant from the banks of the Tennessee. The 

 foliage is not dense, and does not clothe the interior branch- 

 ing of the tree, which, in a way, lays open to view a pecul- 

 iar development of trunk and limbs. About their rounded 

 contour is stretched tightly wrinkled swathings of smooth, 

 light-colored bark. Small and graceful, the leaves are light 

 green, more or less like those of an acacia or sophora, and 

 the flowers white and in form drooping, like those of the 

 wistaria. The pyramidal oak, too, forms one of the best 

 trees for a church lawn. Its upright lines are bold and 

 picturesque, as relieved against the more horizontal ones of 

 the church. The tree is, moreover, massive and, for an oak, 

 very rapid in growing. 



In seeking to gather about the church trees that accord 

 with the place, the lawn-planter, by employing the Vi/rgilia 

 hitea, has been most successful. The color shades off 

 effectively, through the varying hues of ginkgo, weeping 

 elm, pyramidal oak, and stately American elm, to the deep- 

 est, noblest tone of all produced by the grand Nordmann's 

 fir, near the right-hand corner of the church. Here a dark, 

 noble mass, with rich, silvery tints, rears itself into a sym- 

 metrical, perfect feature, which impresses the eye much as 

 the ear is affected by some deep, solemn strain from the old 

 organ within the church. This fir, indeed, serves, with its 

 companion evergreens, to give the place its special char- 

 acter. By good luck, hills and trees to the north and west 

 have so protected this spot that evergreens of somewhat 

 tender nature stand the winter well. Thus, we have the 



