ON CONIFERS. 



333 



Redwood of California, recently introduced to this country 

 from forests covering some 500,000 acres, is going at a rate 

 that will result in scarcity in a very few years ; and the 

 same may be said of the Agathis of Hooker, Dammara australis 

 or Kauri Pine of New Zealand. The timber of the Douglas 

 Fir is especially valuable in British Columbia. Abies excelsa, 

 the common Spruce, supplies the white deal of commerce. 

 The best American Pitch Pine is supplied by Pinus australis ; 

 the Yellow Pine by P. ponderosa, a timber heavy enough 

 to sink in water ; the White by Abies nigra, and the White 

 Fir of Oregon by Abies grandis. The best Canadian Eed 

 Pine is produced by Pinus resinosa, and, coming nearer home, 

 the Russian Pine, Memel Fir, and Baltic Yellow Deal, so ex- 

 tensively used in Europe, are obtained from our old friend the 

 Scotch Fir or Pinus sylvestris. Cupressus sempervirens pro- 

 duces one of the most durable timbers known. The Bermuda 

 and Virginian Junipers supply material for our black-lead 

 pencils, and the Deodar Cedar is the most valuable timber in 

 North-West India. Every country indeed, be it temperate or 

 tropical, produces timber most suitable to the requirements of 

 the natives, and so important are these resinous woods that 

 commerce would be simply paralysed were any of them to 

 fail. 



Evergreen Hedges. — Invaluable as the Conifers are for growing 

 as single specimens in the park, the pleasure ground, and the 

 cemetery, many of them are equally notable for forming ever- 

 green hedges. The Yew has been used in a clipped form since 

 the time of Evelyn, and no trees perhaps make better hedges ; 

 but as compared with some others it is a slow grower, con- 

 sequently where quick growth is an object, any of the folio wing- 

 may be substituted. Many years ago I caused some little surprise 

 by recommending Thuja Lobbi for this purpose, and one large 

 nurseryman, fearful of committing himself, quoted my remarks 

 in his advertisement. Thuja Lobbi soon came to the front, and 

 many beautiful hedges may now be seen in this country. Cu- 

 pressus Lawsoniana, in my opinion, stands next, and, being a 

 Conifer which stools freely, it may be clipped, pruned, and cut 

 down to within a foot or two of the ground with impunity. 

 Cupressus nutkaensis, or Thujopsis borealis, stands next on my 

 list, being equally rapid in its growth, equally amenable to 



