AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
179 
as fatal to the life of the tree, as the ravages of 
the worm itself. In some cases, to be sure, they 
bore the tree through and through, making its 
trunk a perfect honey comb in appearance, but 
the sinuosity of their course is found in the same 
place, and usually before they commence the 
straight bore. The entrance is between “wind 
and water,” in nautical parlance, or just above 
tbe ground. Cover this point with earth, or what 
you please, and the worm will enter above it. I 
have seen these holes three feet above the ground, 
half way to the branches. A remedy may be 
found, and I have heard many suggested, but so 
far I have seen none which have proved decided¬ 
ly effectual. 
The borer, too, with other scourges of the in¬ 
sect tribe, may be on its travels, and go from our 
presence after due punishment to us. I hope so ; 
for my anticipations for the future enjoyment of 
our fruit lovers will be gloomy indeed, were these 
pests sure to remain with us for all time. 
Thus, although not discouraged, and our obsta¬ 
cles to successful fruit growing not so formidable 
as they might be, our pomologists will find they 
have got work to do, and their skill and ingenuity 
have a wide field of action before them, to over¬ 
come all their difficulties. That such may be the 
result, I hope and trust, and while there is a pos¬ 
sibility of success, my advice is—plant on—plant 
ever. 
- 1 - ■ - -O 4 — -fr—<p» ■ ■ 
Desirable Evergreens. 
In fulfillment of our promise, last month, to give 
a list of tbe best and really hardy evergreens, we 
name the following: 
I. Pines. —Weymouth or White. (Pinus Stro- 
bus.) Common though it be, it is, after all, one 
of the best of this large family... .Scotch. ( P. 
Sylvestris.) Called Scotch, but abounds quite ex¬ 
tensively throughout northern Europe. Bluish 
foliage, very hardy, rapid grower, excellent.... 
Austrian (P. Austriaca) Is a native of the 
mountainous regions of central Europe, and is 
hardy everywhere. Foliage dark green, un¬ 
changed by Winter, grows in any soil, is easily 
transplanted, every way desirable_Larch or 
Corsican. (P. Laricio.) From the island of Cor¬ 
sica, yet sufficiently hardy for our northern States ; 
is similar to the Austrian, but tbe leaves are of a 
lighter green. .. .Swiss Stone Pine. (P. Cembra .) 
From the Alps, of pale green foliage, slow in 
growth, but perfectly hardy and quite desirable... 
Heavy Wooded Pine. (P. ponderosa) From Ore¬ 
gon, resembles the Austrian, but is darker, of 
bolder habit, and more rapid in growth. Hardy, 
of course-Bhot.an pine. (P. Excelsa) Resem¬ 
bles the White, but has more silvery foliage, and 
is very graceful. It is too luxuriant in growth to 
succeed well north of New-York. To these we 
suppose a few others may be added, but we can 
not speak of them from personal observation. 
IT. Spruces —The Norway. (Abies Excelsa) 
This stands first, of course... .Black and White 
Spruce. (A. Nigra, and A. Alba.) Both natives 
of our northern States, and worthy of planting. 
The black grows in good soils, almost as splen¬ 
didly as the Norway_The Hemlock. (A. Cana¬ 
densis.) This Spruce is of slower growth than the 
others, and is not quite so easy to transplant; yet 
aside from this, it is hardly inferior to any known 
conifer. It makes a beautiful lawn-tree, works 
well into groups,and makes a good screen or hedge. 
The Spruce family is not as large as the pine. 
There are several varieties of the Norway Spruce, 
mostly dwarf, which are hardy and may prove 
desirable when further tried. The Douglass and 
the Indian Spruces are very beautiful, but are not 
proved to be hardy enough for northern gardens. 
III. Firs. —The Common Balsam. ( Picea bal- 
samea ) This tree has many good traits, such as 
hardiness, ease of transplanting, symmetry, and 
fine, persistent color; but it often becomes lean 
and shabby, as it grows old. It is worth planting, 
but it should not supersede other firs which are 
equally hardy and better. Of these, one of the 
hardiest and best is Picea pichta, or Siberian Sil¬ 
ver Fir. We can assure our readers of its per¬ 
fect hardihood north of Albany... .Norman’s 
Silver Fir, and Fraser’s Fir are very fine, and will 
undoubtedly stand the coldest Winter... .The 
European Silver Fir, (P. pcctinata ,) is a very capri¬ 
cious tree. It sometimes grows finely for sever¬ 
al years, and then loses its leader, and that, too, 
in the mild climate of Pennsylvania. Mr. Sar¬ 
gent, in his new edition of Downing, recommends 
also Picea Cephalonica, P. Nobilis, and P. Pinsapo, 
as among the finest firs. 
IV. Arbor Vitzg. —The American. ( Thuja oc- 
cidentalis.) This is a very common, but very use¬ 
ful tree. It is often, but erroneously, called white 
cedar, which is a different tree... .Siberian. 
(Thuja Sibcrica) This is slower in growth, but in 
all other respects is finer than the last; it is 
denser in its habit, of a darker green, and holds 
its color well in the Winter. The Savans in 
arboriculture are in dispute whether there is any 
real difference between this and Thuja Warreana 
and T.plieata. “Without entering into the debate, 
we can only say, very wisely, that either is good 
enough, and all are very desirable !. ... T. gigan- 
tea, from the Columbia river and the Rock Moun¬ 
tains, promises to be a valuable tree ; as yet, 
however, little is known of it. South of New- 
York, the Chinese Arbor Vita3 makes a neat, 
small tree. 
V. — Junipers. —The Common. ( Juniperus Com¬ 
munis.) This is a small tree, common to England, 
Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Russia. The 
Swedish variety is most commonly grown in this 
country. It makes a compact, conical, tapering 
tree, of silvery green foliage. It sometimes 
reaches to twelve or fifteen feet in hight. It re¬ 
sembles a miniature Lombardy poplar. The 
Irish variety is very pretty, but not quite as ro¬ 
bust. The Chinese is yet comparatively rare in 
this country, but is highly recommended for its 
hardiness and beauty. The Red Cedar, (,/. Can¬ 
adensis) is worthy of a respectable place in all 
plantations. The Wheeping Juniper, from Japan, 
(J. oblonga pendula ,) will be sought for by all am¬ 
ateurs : it is a great curiosity. 
The foregoing comprise, probably, most of the 
really desirable evergreens, suitable for northern 
olimates. Others are now being tested by such 
amateurs as Mr. Sargent, and by nurserymen in 
different parts of the country, and some of them 
will undoubtedly be added to the list. Among 
those of which we have some knowledge, we look 
with special hope and interest to the Thuiopsis 
Borealis , from Nootka Sound ; the Mammoth 
Tree of California ; tbe Wheeping Arbor Vitas, 
and the Yew-leaved Torreya. 
Propagation of Evergreens. 
In answering certain inquiries on this subject 
a few months ag.o, we might have added to what 
we then said that, to ensure success, it is well to 
bury tbe seeds of conifers in boxes of sand during 
the Winter, and then sow in the Spring as de¬ 
scribed. It is quite probable that many of the 
Norway Spruce and Arbor Vitae seeds, sent out 
by us during the past Winter, will fail to vegetate 
the first season, as they were necessarily sent 
away dry. Should this be the case, leave them 
undisturbed during the Summer, with the excep¬ 
tion of pulling the weeds carefully, and it is likely 
they will show themselves another Spring. They 
will be less liable to be disturbed if in boxes, or 
pots, plunged into the garden border and watered 
occasionally if needful. 
And here,we will observe further,that most ever¬ 
greens can be raised from cuttings. Pine, fir, and 
spiuce cuttings set out in August, are quite sure 
to grow, in skillful hands, if they are made of the 
current season’s growth, taken off just at its junc¬ 
tion with the last year’s wood. If they are struck 
in a moderate hot-bed and properly shaded and 
otherwise cared for, they will root in a month’s 
time ; if in open ground they will need to lie un¬ 
til the following Spring. In this last case, they 
must be protected from hard freezing in Winter, 
as also from the extremes of sunshine, dryness, 
and rain. Starting in a hot-bed is much the surest 
method, although care is requisite even here to 
insure general success. 
-«-■ —, —- 
Uses of Shrubberry. 
Shrubs play as important a part in ornamental 
grounds as trees do. Indeed, trees are planted 
too abundantly, in most places. As they attain to 
maturity, they become much larger than the 
planter expected, they overshadow the grass, 
shrubs, and flowering plants beneath them, and 
prevent their healthy growth. And, what is of 
equal importance, they seriously obstruct views 
of the surrounding landscape. In grounds of or¬ 
dinary size—say from half an acre to two acres— 
forest trees should be used sparingly. They should 
be kept near the boundaries, a few only being 
scattered at wide intervals over the premises. 
In place oflarge trees, shrubs of all s'zes should 
be used, and some small trees. Among shrubs, 
there is a wide range to choose from, beginning 
with tbe little deutzia gracilis and dwarf syririga, 
and going up to the lilacs, upright honeysuckles, 
hawthorns, euonymous, and the like. 
In small places, shrubs may be planted on the 
same artistic principles that would be applied to 
trees in a grand domain ; setting some in groups, 
some in belts and thickets, and others as single 
specimens. If properly managed in this way, 
grounds of half an acre would be made to appear 
twice that in extent. 
Shrubs are better than trees for concealing 
fences, and they submit better to the pruning 
knife. They are desirable, also, for their flowers, 
varied and fragrant, and for the scarlet berries 
which many of them retain in Winter. For out¬ 
side belts and screens, to break off the cold winds 
of Winter, it is important to use evergreens. But 
as it would produce a monotonous appearance to, 
use them alone, it is an excellent plan to set 
groups and specimens of flowering shrubs before 
them. The effect of their more lively and airy 
leaves and flowers, contrasted with the somber 
back-ground, is very pleasing. 
In selecting shrubs, it is as important to choose 
those having good and persistent foliage, as those 
having fine flowers ; indeed the first is more im¬ 
portant than the last. The flowers last only a 
few weeks, while the foliage is to be viewed all 
Summer. In planting groups or belts, the bushes 
should be set rather thickly at the outset, for im¬ 
mediate effect, but should be regularly thinned 
out as they encroach upon each other. Of course 
they should be set in good soil. No satisfaction 
need be expected from them, if they are merely 
thrust into a hard hole in grass ground, and then 
left to struggle for life. 
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Hungry men call the cook lazy. 
