Is the Southern Hemlock Better 



IT SEEMS TO BE A MORE GRACEFUL TREE, MORE COM 

 FLUFFIER IN TEXTURE, BETTER CLOTHED WITH FOLI 



really exhibits its individuality. All 

 spruces look alike in pictures. It must 

 be totally impossible to show the dif- 

 ference in texture between these two trees." 



"Oh! I don't know," murmured the 

 photographer, and here are his results. 

 You can see for yourself that the Carolina 

 hemlock has a softer, fluffier, foliage-effect. 



And the secret of this softer and fluffier 

 texture is revealed by the two detailed 

 pictures showing small sprays. Look at 

 the Northern one. It has a flat appear- 

 ance, because the needles are so arranged 

 that they seem to lie in two planes which 

 are parallel and close together. Look at 

 the Southern and you will see an additional 



row of needles which stand erect. Now 

 you have put your finger on the very thing 

 which, when multiplied thousands of 

 times, produces the characteristic texture 

 of the Southern hemlock. 



Another thing which makes the Southern 

 hemlock more elegant than the Northern 

 is its greater compactness. This is due 

 to the branches of the Southern species 

 being short and stout, while those of the 

 Northern are comparatively long and slen- 

 der. As the trees grow older the dif- 

 ferences come out. The Southern tree 

 has a solider mass of greenery, and the 

 Northern is comparatively thin and poor 

 — but only comparatively. 



Southern hemlock 



TF THERE is anyone harder to convince 

 -'- about an important new fact than 

 myself I should like to meet the gentleman. 

 I remember how I hooted when a New 

 England nurseryman told me about five 

 years ago that the Southern hemlock was 

 more beautiful than the Northern. "Oh, 

 pshaw!" I exclaimed, "that's only because 

 you have it to sell." 



The next year I read in "The Tree 

 Book" that the Carolina hemlock is 

 "more graceful, more compact, and has 

 a better head when older," than the 

 American hemlock. That should have 

 opened my eyes, for I have often had to 

 give in to Miss Rogers, but perhaps it 

 was a case of a prophet in her own country, 

 since we lived in the same family. 



Last summer, however I was going 

 about the Arnold Arboretum with pro- 

 fessor Sargent and Mr. Dawson, when they 

 casually remarked that the Southern 

 hemlock was even finer than the Northern. 

 Then I began to sit up and take notice. 



"I dare you to show me both trees side 

 by side!" I exclaimed, banging my cane 

 with some asperity, for I love the Northern 

 hemlock devotedly, and could not bear 

 to think of there being anything finer. 



Evidently these gentlemen "never take 

 a dare, " for without a word they led me 

 to two specimens about twenty feet high, 

 at the edge of the famous Hemlock Hill. 

 And at the first glance I felt something 

 within give way and drop with a sickening 

 thud. For, there is no use denying it; 

 the Northern tree may have more of an 

 air of sturdiness, but the Southern tree 

 unquestionably has more grace. 



"Of course, you can't show this," I 

 began in my most offensively dogmatic 

 tone to my long-suffering companion, 

 Mr. Eldredge. "No photograph of a 

 whole conifer has ever been taken which 



I 



The oouunern hemlocK (Tsuga CaroUniana i is a more gracsful tree than the Northern, more compact, 

 better clothed with foUage. and in texture it is softer and flufiaer 



214 



