EVERGREEN TREES AND SHRUBS. 555 
that the latter can scarcely be seen. The upper side of the leaf is 
a dark green, the under side lined with white, giving the foliage a 
bluish-gray tone. The growth is slow and compact when young, 
and the tree has been found quite hardy in the eastern States. Mr. 
Downing, writing from England, described the specimens seen there 
as the most majestic of evergreens. The best specimens we have 
seen spread upon the ground with more breadth than height. 
Probably they had not yet reached the age of most rapid upward 
growth. When larger the branches are in whorls, disposing the 
foliage into strata, so that it lies in masses, says a recent writer, 
“almost as level as Utrecht velvet.” 
This, after the P. nordmaniana , is doubtless the most valuable 
of the newer evergreens of the Picea family. 
The Great Silver Fir. Picea grandis. —This is another of 
the giant trees of the Pacific slope. It bears a striking resemblance 
to the common European silver fir, but has rather longer and, per¬ 
haps, lighter-colored leaves. The branches are regularly disposed 
in whorls, and the foliage lies in thin layers. We believe its growth 
will prove too rank and monotonously symmetrical to become a val¬ 
uable tree for small grounds. 
Parsons’ Silver Fir. Picea grandis Parsonii. —This is sup¬ 
posed to be a sport of the Picea grandis , originating in the grounds 
of Messrs. Parsons & Co., of Flushing, N. Y. It is certainly the 
most exquisite young tree of the silver fir type that we have seen ; 
exceeding all others in the length of its leaves, and the soft shadings 
of their warm-toned layers. It bears a similar relationship to other 
Piceas that the exquisite Bhotan pine does to the pines. The new 
twigs are small and yellowish-brown; older wood, slate-colored. 
The trunk enlarges rapidly near the base like a cypress. 
Low’s Silver Fir. Picea lowiana (P. lasciocarpa). —This 
fine species differs from the common silver fir and the Picea gran¬ 
dis principally in the greater length of its leaves, which are arranged 
on the sides of the twigs in two level lines as flatly as if they had 
all been ironed out; and also in their paler color, the more slender 
