BULLETIN NO. 63. 
In spite of the severity of the past winter and the injury which it 
caused, and of the drought of September and October which has been 
of exceptional length, the Arboretum on the whole does not look bad, 
and for lovers of plants there is much of interest to be seen here this 
year in the early weeks of November. The conifers, with few excep- 
tions, are in good condition, although the leading shoots of a few 
species have been destroyed by a borer, the White Pine Weevil ( Pis - 
sodes strobi). The species which are injured by this pest nearly every 
year in the Arboretum are the Himalayan White Pine ( Pinus excelsa), 
the White Pine of western China ( Pinus Armandi), the Oriental Spruce 
{Picea orientalis), and the Balkan Spruce ( Picea omorika). The Balkan 
Spruce is the last European tree brought into cultivation; it is a beau- 
tiful, fast-growing and perfectly hardy tree which on the mountains 
of southwestern Europe sometimes grows to a large size and is highly 
valued as a timber tree. In this country, or at least in the Arbore- 
tum, it does not promise to become valuable as an ornamental tree 
unless the ravages of the White Pine Weevil can be stopped. There 
is no indication yet that many of the new Chinese conifers, especially 
the Pines and Spruces, will not flourish in this climate. The Larches 
are perhaps less promising, and the Firs, although some of them may 
prove hardy, grow badly in the nursery and do not give promise of 
much value here. 
A few of the conifers in the Pinetum which are particularly inter- 
esting just now are the Colorado White Fir ( Abies concolor), the Jap- 
anese Abies brachyphylla and A. homolepis, the Carolina Hemlock 
( Tsuga caroliniana), and three Japanese Pines, Pinus parvijlora, P. 
Thunbergii, and P. densijlora. There are good plants of a dwarf form 
of the last in the collection of dwarf conifers to which attention is 
called. This dwarf is a common plant in Japanese gardens and should 
be better known in this country, for it is one of the handsomest of 
all dwarf conifers among which are many decorative garden plants. 
Among other conifers which should be studied at this time are Engel- 
mann’s Spruce {Picea Engelmannii), the Colorado form of the Douglas 
Fir ( Pseudotsuga mucronata), the Siberian Spruce ( Picea obovata), the 
western White Pine {Pinus monticola), the different forms of the Black 
Pine of Europe {Pinus nigra , laricio, etc.), and some of the eastern 
North American Pines, notably Pinus resinosa, P. virgmiana, and P. 
Banksiana. 
The few broad-leaved evergreens which can be grown successfully in 
this climate are in good condition, and Laurels (Kalmia) and all Rhodo- 
dendrons now promise abundant flowers for next year. The evergreen 
Hollies are beautiful now. Ilex opaca is covered with its large red 
berries and is interesting because it is the only broad-leaved evergreen 
tree which is hardy in the Arboretum. Although less beautiful than 
the European Holly with its lustrous leaves, it should be more often 
seen in eastern American collections in which north of Washington the 
European tree is not hardy. The native Inkberry {Ilex glabra) is one 
of the most valuable of the evergreen shrubs which can be grown in 
this climate. It is a round-topped plant, occasionally five or six feet 
tall, and is very common in the neighborhood of the coast from New 
