74 EVERGREENS. 



branches, each year giving a new Dhelf. Sometimes the snows 

 loflge heavily on It, and you would think it would be pendu- 

 lous lilce the White or Norway spruce, but as soon as the snow 

 is off it springs back again. 



Taken all in- all, this is a, remarkable tree. There is prob- 

 ably no state in the Union where it will not thrive. It might 

 be monotonous to have the entire grounds planted with them, 

 but every lawn or yard should have at least one to give with 

 its unique coloring such a pleasing contrast to the deep green 

 of other trees. Hardy, healthy and wonderfully beautiful. It 

 should be welcomed to every home. 



Picea EngelmanI — Engelmani Spruce. Named from Dr. Bng- 

 elman, the Botanist. 



About fifty miles west of Boulder, Col., In the centennial 

 year, a company of travelers were caught in a fearful storm 

 and probably would have perished had they not found a most 

 remarkable tree. It was tall and shapely, of beautiful droop- 

 ing form, the outer branches bending to the ground. There 

 was an opening as if some animals had entered. Cutting away 

 some of the limbs, they found a spacious roomi reaching out 

 in every way from the trunk about fifteen feet, giving ample 

 space for themselves and horses. On their entrance some 

 bears rushed out to the terror of their horses. Looking alDout, 

 they found the great limbs shingled with green foliage, drop- 

 ping to the ground, shutting out snow and storm, while be- 

 neath was a floor of cone and leaves. They were nicely fixed 

 and named their protector the "Centennial Tree." It was often 

 used by travelers in that far off place — away from human habi- 

 tation. 



Some one put up a match box and under It wrote: ^If you 

 haven't any take some; if you have a, surplus, leave some," 

 and the box was kept filled for years. The room was imper- 

 vious to the storms and the matches kept in good condition. 

 The bears were loth to give up their comfortable nest, and 

 coming back one day to see if their room was vacant, they 

 frightened the horses so badly that they ran away, and it took 

 days to find them. This famous tree was Picea Engelmani — 

 the giant of the high altitudes — and this was a, weeping form of 

 the species. They seem at their best at an altitude of 8,000 

 to 10.000 feet above the sea level. A few miles from Beulah, 

 Col., in the high altitudes there are magnificent groves of them. 

 They have a softer and more symmetrical appearance than 

 the Picea Pungens, which they much resemble, and it takes 

 an expert to tell the difference. These are sometimes called 

 the Colorado Blue Spruce, though that name really belongs 

 to the Picea Pungens. The seed Is often gathered and sold 

 for Pungens. 



There Is no doubt but what this would be one of the very 

 best trees for Northern Minnesota, North Dakota and Manl- 



