268 LANDSCAPE GARDENING. 
throughout all the middle states, while at the south it is 
confined chiefly to the mountains. 
It prefers a soil, which, though slightly moist, is less 
humid than that where the Black Spruce succeeds best ; 
and it thrives well in the deep cool shades of mountain val- 
leys. In the Highlands of the Hudson, it grows in great 
luxuriance ; and in one locality, the sides of a valley near 
Cro’nest, the surface is covered with the most superb 
growths of this tree, reaching up from the water’s edge to 
the very summit of the hill, 1,400 feet high, like a rich and 
shadowy mantle, sprinkled here and there only with the 
lighter and more delicate foliage of deciduous trees. 
The average height of the Hemlock in good soils is about 
70 or 80 feet ; and when standing alone, or in very small 
groups, it is one of the most beautiful coniferous trees. 
The leaves are disposed in two rows on each side of the 
branches, and considerably resemble those of the Yew, 
though looser in texture, and livelier in colour. The fo- 
liage, when the tree has grown to some height, hangs from 
the branches in loose pendulous tufts, which give it a 
peculiarly graceful appearance. When young, the form of 
the head is regularly pyramidal ; but when the tree attains 
more age, it often assumes very irregular and picturesque 
forms. Sometimes it grows up in a thick, dense, dark mass 
of foliage, only varied by the pendulous branches, which 
project beyond the grand mass of the tree ; at others it forms 
a loose, airy, and graceful top, permeable to the slightest 
breeze, and waving its loose tufts of leaves to every passing 
breath of air. In almost all cases, it is extremely orna- 
mental, and we regret that it is not more generally employed 
in decorating the grounds of our residences. It should be 
transplanted (like all of this class of trees,) quite early in 
