488 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 



A. Douglasii (the Douglas fir). — Another superb tree, re- 

 „ specting the hardihood of which, very much the 



Tsnga Douglasii. same remarks we made about the preceding 



Picea DoTigiasii. ^^.^^^^ (j_ Smithiana), will apply. Plants 

 with us, in low, damp ground, suffer occasionally in color, if 

 not in loss of leader, while those grown in the shade, or on an 

 exposed hill-side, in poor, slaty soil, succeed admirably. This 

 is also the case near Boston, at " "Wellesley" (Mr. Hunne- 

 well's), where trees, two years planted, are five feet high, and 

 do admirably in the shade ; while at Mr. Eeid's, at Elizabeth- 

 town, it loses its leader in severe winters; and near Phila- 

 delphia, Mr. Meehan reports : " that so far it has not been 

 satisfactory." At "Washington, perfectly hardy ; at Newport, 

 it wont stand; though at Augusta, Ga., and Cincinnati, it 

 thrives well. The variety originates in the north-western 

 part of North America, and along the banks of the Columbia 

 River, where it is found in immense forests, and also on the 

 Rocky Mountains, on the top of which, it rarely is more than 

 a small bush, but becomes larger and more stately as it 

 descends, until it reaches the altitude of one hundred and 

 fifty to two hundred feet. Its foliage is very dark, and the 

 tree generally resembles a superb balsam fir. 



A. Jezoensis (the Jezo fir), found in China, and the Island of 

 . ^ Jezo, is probably hardy, though we have not 



Pieea Jezoensis. heard of its being tested sufiiciently to pronounce 

 decidedly. It is quite striking. There has been 

 a good deal of confusion in its classification, as to whether it is 

 a spruce or Silver fir, and it would seem to be intermediate, 

 though we believe with persistent cones. Our specimens, 

 which are small, seem quite hardy, and are not very unlike in 

 their general appearance, the Torreya, and also the Cephalo- 

 taxus. 



Aeattcakia. 



This extraordinary and most distinguished genus of plants 

 derives its name from Araucanos, a people of Chili, where the 

 species known as imhicata greatly abounds, its seeds being 

 used for food. 



