THE CULTIVATOR. 
The Norway Fir. 
This tree is certainly one of the finest 
of all the fir tribe, and all things consid¬ 
ered, the most valuable. As it is a na¬ 
tive of the colder parts of Europe, it is per¬ 
fectly ..hardy in any portion of the north¬ 
ern states; it grows with great rapidity, 
often three or four feet in a year, in ordinary 
soil, and with no care whatever. It will 
attain a large size in a very short time, and 
far outstrips the balsam fir. white spruce, 
silver fir and other evergreens. It forms 
one of the finest lawn trees, when standing 
out alone, and sweeping the ground with 
its graceful branches; and a dense screen 
against wintry winds may be made of 
a plantation of this tree in a very few 
years. 
Like many other trees, the Norway spruce 
is disposed to run into varieties, which are 
shown by the different appearances of the 
foliage. On some trees, the foliage is spar 
ing, erect and rigid; on others, it is profuse, 
drooping and luxuriant. A mixture of both 
sorts will give greater variety in a planta¬ 
tion ; but in selecting in the nursery, the 
drooping specimens will always be preferred. 
We sometimes see rare specimens, of sur¬ 
passing grace and luxuriance, of which we 
furnish a fine portrait, which accompanies 
this article, of a tree standing on the 
grounds of Humphry Howland, Esq., of 
Aurora, N. Y. 
his splendid erection at Strawberry Hill, which was in 
fact only a glittering jumble. 
The plan (fig. 1) needs but little explanation. The 
library may be devoted to books, papers, objects of nat¬ 
ural history, optical instruments, Ac., and would form 
an interesting resort for the younger members of the 
family, or for the pursuit of their home studies; or it 
might be occupied as a business office. We have given 
modifications of the plan in the accompanying figures. 
In fig. 1, the nursery and library both open (through 
a small entry, so as to exclude the direct cold air of 
winter,) upon the veranda, that the children and young 
people may enjoy its full benefit. The dining-room, 
. entered through the side passage, is freely accessible 
from both kitchen and parlor, and may be used as a 
snug, retired and comfortable living-room. For those 
who prefer a parlor opening on the veranda, the second 
plan (fig. 2) is given, the dining-room and veranda 
of fig. 1 being made to change places with each other, 
so that the nursery and parlor both open, by means of 
an entry upon the veranda, this mode of access through 
an entry being more secure from cold, and better adapt¬ 
ed to a house of this character than windows opening 
as doors. If desired, the veranda may be replaced 
with two bed-rooms, for a larger or increasing family, 
a very common circumstance. 
The plan of the second floor is not given, as it very 
nearly resembles, in its general form, the plan below. 
It may be made into six bed-rooms, by dividing the 
space over the kitchen in the first plan, and over the 
dining-room in the second, leaving the nece sary pas¬ 
sages for this purpose. Those who lodge hired men 
may prefer a separate stairway to the two back rooms, 
in which case narrow stairs may be placed at one side 
of the kitchen, directly under which the cellar-stairway 
may descend. The dairy occupies a separate room in 
the cellar, with a free access to pure fresh air. The 
roof over the hall only rises to the eaves of the side 
walls, thus avoiding the usual leakages of re-entering 
angles in roofs. As it is, however, more nearly hori¬ 
zontal than the rest, it should be covered with a metalic 
coating of the same color as the rest of the roof. 
This house, built on a moderate scale, or with the 
four larger rooms about 15 by 17 feet, and ten feet 
high, perfectly plain in its finish, may be completed 
for about eighteen hundred dollars. With larger rooms, 
more massive and durable walls, and higher finish, it 
might be made to cost three thousand to three thousand 
five hundred. 
