All the Spruces Worth Cultivating— By John F. Johnston 



Glen Cove, 



Long Island 



SPRUCES ANYBODY CAN GROW AND SPRUCES FOR CONNOISSEURS ONLY— VIVID PEN PICTURES OF THE IMPOR- 

 TANT KINDS, SHOWING THE PECULIAR BEAUTY OF EACH AND WHAT INDUCEMENT THERE IS TO GROW IT 



Photographs by Henry Troth and H. E. Angell 



[Editorial Note — This is the second article in the series of "Little Monographs" written by specialists for the expert gardener, whether amateur 

 or professional, and designed to bring our knowledge of each subject up to date. 



These articles present a new type of horticultural literature, in which the point of view is primarily human and horticultural, not dry-as-dust 

 botanical. The old-style "alphabetical monograph" merely describes species; it does not distinguish them. This new department will do both, and hopes 

 to be interesting and practical also. The new plan combines the convenience of the alphabetical index (wherever the group is large enough to justify an 

 index) with the accuracy of the " key," which alone can give one a grasp of the whole genus in the shortest possible time. 



Mr. Johnston is gardener to Mr. Paul Dana, whose estate " Dosoris," founded by the late Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun, contains 

 the best private collection of conifers in the vicinity of New York City.] 



SPRUCES and firs form a large natural 

 group, the members of which are noted 

 for the symmetry of their pyramidal growth. 

 Most people cannot tell a spruce from a fir, 



fe. 



40. A weeping spruce. Most people make the 

 mistaKe of putting such striking objects in conspicu- 

 ous positions, instead of secluding them. Picea excelsa, 

 var. iriberia 



and even the scientific names Picea and 

 Abies are often exactly transposed by nursery- 

 men. As a rule, the branches of a spruce are 

 less stifBy horizontal than those of a fir; the 

 branchlets more drooping, and the needles 

 seem to lie in two ranks instead of being 

 spirally arranged. For these reasons spruces 

 usually have more of loose, pendulous grace, 

 while the beauty of firs is generally of the 

 stiff, precise, military character. 



Run your hand along the bare branch of a 

 spruce; it feels rough, while that of fir is 

 smooth. The reason for this is that when 

 the old leaves of a spruce drop off, a small 

 footstalk remains attached to the branch, 

 whereas in a fir there remains a slight 

 depression or small circular disk. 



Of course the surest way to tell them apart 

 is by the cones, which, however, may not 

 be borne until a tree is ten years old or 

 more. A spruce cone stands up at first, but 

 later hangs down, and after scattering its seed, 

 the whole thing falls to the ground without 

 shedding any of its scales; whereas a fir cone 

 always remains erect, and its scales are shed 

 one by one, leaving the core or axis of the 

 cone standing for a time. 



THE MOST POPULAR SPRUCE — THE NORWAY 



Undoubtedly, the most popular hardy 

 spruce is the Norway spruce {Picea excelsa). 



It is probably more planted than any other 

 conifer. This is because of its cheapness, 

 rapid growth and ease of propagation. It is 

 the commonest evergreen for windbreaks; 

 but the white spruce, though costlier and 

 harder to get from nurserymen, is probably 

 a better tree for this purpose, since it seems 

 more likely to preserve its lowest branches. 

 (A windbreak loses much of its effectiveness 

 if the cold wind has a chance to sweep along 

 the ground.) Like every popular idol, the 

 Norway spruce has its limitations, which are 

 not usually stated by its enthusiastic friends. 

 It is one of the blackest conifers. Long 



41. AlcocK's spruce, even more brilliantly blue 

 than the Colorado blue spruce when the under sides 

 of the leaves are illuminated by the setting sun. Two 

 species are sold as P. Alcockiana. The quicker- 

 growing one with quadrangular leaves is the true 

 one ; that with much flattened leaves is P. Ajanensis 



avenues of it, therefore, are sometimes 

 gloomy and make too harsh a contrast with 

 the snow. They need to be supplemented 

 by light-colored conifers, which are the 

 cheery ones. A Norway spruce generally 

 gets ragged in the top after thirty years. 

 Ninety-nine times out of a hundred people 

 plant trees so closely that they will never 

 develop symmetrically. It is rare indeed to 

 find as perfect a specimen as that in Fig. 42, 

 which is about fifty feet high and half a 

 century old. It is on the estate of Mr. 

 James Wood, of Mount Kisco, N. Y. 



A BETTER TREE THAN THE NORWAY 



You can always tell a white spruce {Picea 

 alba) by bruising the foliage, for its strong 

 24 



aroma is characteristic. It is a lighter 

 colored and therefore more cheerful tree than 

 the Norway and longer lived, but slower 

 growing. Since it is native, one can some- 

 times get small trees for the digging. On 

 the Dana estate the white spruce seems to 

 make a taller, longer-lived and more perfect 

 windbreak than the evergreens, which are 

 commonly planted for that purpose. The 

 white spruce has an important blue variety 

 (var. glanca), which is as perfect in its way 

 as the Colorado blue. 



THE MOST POPULAR HIGHLY COLORED CONIFER 



Of all the highly colored conifers in culti- 

 vation the Colorado blue spruce {Picea 

 pungens, var. glauca) is doubtless the most 

 popular. It is the one conifer that everybody 

 can recognize at sight. It is divinely ap- 

 pointed for a lawn specimen, and while it 

 should have plenty of room to develop, it 

 ought not to be planted in the middle of a 

 lawn, but on the side or near the house — 

 anywhere so long as it is in relation to some- 

 thing, because a conspicuous thing like this 

 is only for accent or spice. This blue color 



42. The Norway spruce, cheapest, quickest and 

 most popular of all conifers. Used for windbreaks, 

 screens, avenues and specimens. One of the most 

 sombre evergreens. Usually gets ragged in the top 

 after thirty years, and sometimes loses its effective- 

 ness as a windbreak below. Overplanted in this country 



