144 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
May, 18?8 
Fig. 6- ABIES EXCELSA, OR NORWAY SPRUCE. 
Fig. 8-PINUS I.ARICIO, THE CORSICAN OR LARCH PINK. 
Evergreens. 
iContinved from page 113.] 
The iNorway Spruce Fir, (fig. 6,) may, without 
exaggeration, be proclaimed the finest of ever¬ 
greens. Estimating, as they deserve, all its 
qualities when young and when old, in its Sum¬ 
mer and Winter garb, in its native forests and in 
cultivated grounds for ornament and for use, it 
stands peerless. A native of the mountains of 
Northern Europe, it is everywhere hardy and 
easily cultivated. It is one of the largest of fo¬ 
rest trees, attaining often a hight of 180 feet, with 
a straight erect stem, regular, wide spreading 
branches, and foliage of a rich deep color. We 
note some of its desirable characteristics : 
It is nearly a first-class timber tree, and as 
such may probably be profitably cultivated in the 
timberless districts of the West. It is truly an 
elenant ornamental tree, and from its hardy rapid 
growth, will rarely be omitted in large or small 
plantations. It is beautiful as a single specimen- 
tree, and combines well with other trees in 
groups or masses. It is peculiarly well adapt¬ 
ed to the purpose of hedging, as it bears the 
shears well, thrives even when crowded, and 
branches low, near the ground. It is advantage¬ 
ously planted as “ a nurse” to other trees, and is 
deserving of more frequent use in this manner. 
Branching near the ground it prevents evapora¬ 
tion froru the soil, while its spiral top does not in¬ 
terfere with the spreading head of deciduous trees, 
and its thick evergreen foliage is a good screen 
from severe or cold winds. Added to these, it 
Fig. 7— ABIES DOUGLASII, DOUGLAS’ SPRUCE FIR. 
bears transplanting well, as its roots are fibrous, 
running near the surface of the ground. 
When young its branches grow regularly in 
whorls with an upward curve, but when old, and 
after exposure to storms, and the weight of 
snows, they droop gracefully, and are in the high 
est degree picturesque. From the exuding sap 
of this tree is formed the well-known Burgundy 
Pitch. 
The Douglas Spruce Fir, (fig. 7) is a native o« 
the Oregon coast, where it forms immense forests, 
and grows to a hight of 180 feet, and sometimes 
even reaches a greater hight. The stump of a 
tree on the Columbia river, measured at 3 ft. 
from the ground after the bark was removed, 48 
feet in circumference. The leaves are dark green 
above, and a silvery white beneath. It is hardy 
in this latitude, and is a free grower, which will 
render it a desirable tree for general cultivation. 
Our engraving represents a young tree. In vol 
XVI, page 108, we gave an engraving of a much 
larger tree. 
THE CORSICAN OR LARCH PINE. 
This is a native of Southern Europe, and has 
been considered so valuable a tree that the French 
government has made repeated attempts to intro¬ 
duce it, and it has at last become thoroughly 
domesticated in that country. It has been grown 
successfully in England and even in the Highlands 
of Scotland, although in the latitude of New-York, 
it is frequently injured by the Winter. At Phi¬ 
ladelphia it is entirely hardy, and forms a beauti¬ 
ful pyramidal tree with long, dark, green leaves, 
the branches growing in whorls with considerable 
regularity. It is a rapid grower, and attains a 
hight of 80 to 100 feet. 
