100 JOUPv^'AL OF THE EOYAL HOETICULTUEMi SOCIETY. 



in the end prove an unqualified success in Britain, and form 

 a permanent addition to our forest trees of tlie greatest value 

 to the country. 



II. — CoNiFEES AS Ornamental Trees and Sheubs. 



In this section we have a much vvider range of subjects to 

 deal with, including most of the trees abeady enumerated, which, 

 particularly when in a young and well- furnished state, are very 

 beautiful and extremely useful as ornamental plants. The 

 ornamental character of Conifers generally, and their special 

 merits as decorative subjects, are, however, so well known and 

 highly appreciated that it is unnecessary to dwell at length on the 

 details of every species of beautiful and handsome tree or shrub, 

 even should the limits of a paper of this nature permit it, and a 

 short summary wiU suffice for showing their value in the British 

 Islands. 



Theu' beauty of outline and graceful habit specially qualify a 

 great majority of the hardy species for the adornment of the 

 gardens, lawns, and pleasure-grounds around country mansions ; 

 and as many of them are in harmony with rich architectural 

 embellishments, they find an appropriate place in the neighbour- 

 hood of the most elaborately designed mansion with its terraced 

 gardens, costly statuary, and richest works of art. For such 

 X30sitions the more formal and shapely Conifers are chiefly em- 

 ployed ; and whether they be few or many their eftect is always 

 charming and attractive, so long as their natural outlines are 

 not disfigured by the hand of man in attempting to give them 

 unnatural forms. The compact and upright -gro"v\TQg varieties 

 of Cypress, Juniper, Thuya, and Yew are chiefly employed for 

 this purpose ; but occasionally a Cedar, Pine, or othev " bonnet " 

 or flat-headed Conifer, is used with excellent effect. In the 

 decoration of the flower-garden a great variety of Conifers in a 

 small state are found suitable and of great value, either as 

 single specimens arranged in formal order to set off the design, 

 or in massed numbers to fill the beds in winter, or when more 

 permanency is required than the ordinary flower-garden subjects 

 afford. Here the dwarf and richly coloured varieties of Biota, 

 Cypress, Juniper, Retinospora, Tasus, Thuya, and Thuyopsis are 



