16 OUR NATIVE PINES. 



crops of cones, one of our most beautiful ami remarkable evergreens, 

 has only two short, stout needles in each sheath and small cones 

 with pungently pointed scales. 



The pines should be of especial interest to us, for with the excep- 

 tion of the ubiquitous lied Cedar and the now rare holly, they are 

 our only native evergreen trees and the only green islands in our 

 winter landscapes. The White Cedar of Southern New Jersey 

 comes as near to us as South Amboy. The Hemlock Spruce grows 

 plentifully in the valleys of the Passaic and the Bronx and was 

 doubtless found on Staten Island in the days of early settlement, but 

 it has apparently disappeared from our native Flora before the 

 march of civilization, though a few planted trees remain. The White 

 Cedar or Arbor Vitae of the North comes down the Hudson Valley to 

 the northern end of the Palisades and has probably never been na- 

 tive with us. 



Of the Pines, the especial object of our present sketch, the most 

 suitable and interesting for lawn planting are the White and the 

 Jersey Scrub. The numerous exotic species need not claim our 

 attention in this connection. 



