76 
House & Garden 
®otrf)unter jitlantels 
FIREPLACE ACCESSORIES 
The Best Baker’s Dozen of Evergreen Trees 
(Continued from page 74) 
portant, but not hardy north of New 
York except in sheltered places. This 
is a most adaptaole species, inhabiting 
moist and dry places by nature and 
equally contented in either. It attains 
its greatest height in the deep, moist soil 
of valley lands. In the Yosemite Valley 
it reaches the very imposing figure of 
225', while high in Colorado where the 
soil is dry and shallow, it becomes a 
picturesque specimen ranging from 60' 
to 70' in height. 
The species which, for some obscure 
reason we call Norway pine ( Pinus 
resinosa ), is not from the (Did World at 
all, but one of our very own finest trees 
—the red pine, of almost the same dis¬ 
tribution as Pinus strobus. It is very 
hardy and a handsome specimen, fairly 
regular in youth and forming an open, 
round, picturesque head as it ages. 
Pitch Pines and Arborvitae 
And then finally, there is the pitch pine 
of the Atlantic coast ( Pinus rigida) 
which grows in the most sterile soil, and 
grows rapidly. It is not a long lived 
tree, but owing to the extreme fecundity 
of the species, those tracts which are 
forested by it are in no danger of be¬ 
coming arid deserts. This is one of the 
few members of the family that will live 
and thrive in a moist or wet place as 
well as in a dry and sandy one. 
The spruce which I have mentioned 
as one of the final six is not, I wish es¬ 
pecially to emphasize, the Colorado blue 
spruce. It is the Colorado spruce ( Picea 
pungens) of which the form so popu¬ 
larly known as blue spruce is a variety. 
The type is a handsome tree of pyra¬ 
midal habit, very hardy, and with foliage 
of an unusual silvery color—very much 
more worthy of planting, to my taste, 
than its variety Kosteriana, which is the 
very blue form greatly advertised, and 
most frequently used as a lawn specimen. 
As trees alone are within the scope of 
this article, there is no occasion, I sup¬ 
pose, to mention such of these as are 
especially designed for hedge purposes. 
But to stop without a reference to the 
arborvitse, best known perhaps of all 
evergreens in the land, is unthinkable. 
And being a tree, though not often seen 
grown to large size, why should it be 
omitted, especially as it has merits which 
none of the others shares? It is too well 
known, however, for me to dwell on it, 
or to do more than suggest that the 
Siberian form ( Thuya occidentalis, 
Sibirica) is to be preferred to the native, 
for the reason that the color of its foliage 
is better in winter. The native variety 
turns a rusty yellowish-green; the Siber¬ 
ian form holds clear and fresh through¬ 
out the year. Otherwise there is small 
choice between them, unless you require, 
for one reason or another, the narrower, 
taller growth of the Siberian variety, in 
place of the rather broad and pyramidal, 
lower growing native. 
Distinctive Reproductions of Old English and Colonial Designs 
in Wood and Marble Mantels. Grates, Andirons, Fire Tools, Fenders, 
Tool Rests, etc., skillfully wrought in Brass, Iron and Steel. 
ARTHUR TODHUNTER, 101 PARK AVENUE, NEW YORK 
The Value of Good Furniture Reproductions 
(Continued from page 45) 
INTERIOR DECORATION 
JOHN WANAMAKER, New York 
Au Quatrieme 
Tuscan walnut and Venetian lacquer Spanish gilt, walnut and iron 
Louis XV and Directoire rooms Queen Anne and Victorian furniture 
REPRODUCTIONS AND ORIGINALITIES A SPECIALTY 
Gillies 
When placed with veritable pieces the 
modern reproduction, such as this con¬ 
sole cabinet, deducts naught from the 
value of the originals 
for secular decorative pur¬ 
poses, are copied by skillful 
embroiderers to simulate an¬ 
cient work. 
For example, a fine old 
brocade upholstered, high 
backed Charles II chair can 
be duplicated at a cost of 
from $185 to $250 with such 
accuracy as to satisfy the 
most discriminating buyer. 
An elaborately carved oak 
or velvet covered chest or 
“cassone” with rusted iron 
lock and hinges can be 
bought at a cost two-thirds 
less than a 17 th Century 
original. Old steel, iron or 
brass fireplace fixtures are 
reproduced with the worn, 
oily surface of the old pieces, 
and Venetian polychrome 
torcheres are copied in their 
most intricate detail. 
Nor is the work in repro¬ 
ductions confined to the du¬ 
plication of English, French, 
Italian and Spanish furni¬ 
ture and accessories alone. 
Chinese lacquer is quite as 
cleverly executed. In this, 
some exceptionally fine cabi¬ 
nets are seen, mirror frames, 
screens and tables—many of 
them astonishing in their 
fidelity to Oriental decoration. 
Old mirrors, always much coveted, are 
likewise reproduced in all sizes, styles 
and treatment—the small lacquer-framed 
dressing table mirror, the Georgian 
square or oblong mirror framed in blue 
glass, the dull gold framed Adams mir¬ 
ror, the elaborately carved and orna¬ 
mented gilt Chippendale mirror. The 
prices range from $50 to $1,200. 
The Modern Utilities 
In the matter of cabinets for talking 
machines, the great variety of period de¬ 
signs in these comes as a welcome inno¬ 
vation. No longer is it necessary to in¬ 
troduce the conventional mahogany box 
or cabinet as an incongruous note in the 
furnishings of a room, for the cabinet 
can now have the form of a Jacobean 
cupboard or a dainty French cabinet, or 
it may be designed to comply with any 
scheme of decoration without indicating 
in any feature its actual use. They range 
from $400 to $6,000 in price, according 
to the elaboration of their design. 
Clocks are likewise" mounted in cases 
that have been especially made to har¬ 
monize with the furnishings of the room 
for which they are intended. In these, 
the dials as well as the cases are antiqued 
to avoid the slightest hint or sugges¬ 
tion of newness. 
