8. American Arbor- Vita

Here comes the servant of all work - the tree which makes itself so generally useful. A child can transplant it. It is not fastidious about soils or exposure; nay, if any delicate brother tree shrinks from the north wind, it willingly shelters and nurses it. If promoted to a conspicuous place, it bears its honors well, and takes on as courtly a grace (at least, during the gay season) as most of its associates.

9. The Junipers

Of these, the common American and Swedish are the most desirable. They are small, pyramidal trees, seldom reaching higher than twenty or thirty feet. The branches are sometimes loose and straggling - at others, compact and upright. The foliage is a silvery green, with a slight bluish tinge. By occasionally tying-in the branches, and giving them a little pruning, the tree is made to resemble, in form, a miniature Poplar. The Junipers are somewhat formal in their habit, but, in shape and color, they strongly contrast with other trees, and when set near buildings or other artificial objects, their effect is quite pleasing. Aside from their lively color, they make appropriate trees for cemetery lots.

The Red Cedar is not a tree of the highest excellence, but deserves a place in large collections. It varies much in form and color, being sometimes dense and conical - at others, open and spreading; sometimes a dark grass-green - at others, with a tinge of blue. The chief defects of this tree are its rusty hue in winter, its liability to lose its lower branches, and to become shabby on the side exposed to violent winds. Planted in a sheltered situation, and on soil congenial to it, it often becomes a very handsome object.

There are other hardy evergreens, of undoubted excellence, which might be noticed here, had we sufficient space; such as the Corsican, Cembrian, Dwarf, and Sabinian Pines, Cracovian Juniper (Picea pichta), the American Yew, and others; but those already mentioned embrace, in our judgment, the cream of the catalogue. If these are arranged with skill, and well cultivated, they will give to a plantation as great variety as can reasonably be desired.

A good deal has been said of late respecting the importance of evergreen shrubs. Amateurs have cried out: " Oh, for the Hollies, Laurels, and Rhododendrons of England!" Such shrubs would certainly add much to the beauty of our home-scenes in the fall and spring; but what could we do with broad-leaved shrubs in midwinter, with the snow two or three feet upon them? Would they not be demolished? And has not Providence wisely limited such shrubs almost wholly to regions where but little snow falls, or caused them to grow where they will be sheltered by the thick overhanging boughs of trees?

In conclusion, we beg leave to offer a few words of exhortation. Dear friends, plant evergreens for their beauty and their use, and plant those only which are of undoubted hardiness and excellence. Plant them not in the autumn, to be lashed about by the winter winds before they have become established, but in the spring, in cloudy weather, and when they are just beginning to make their first growth. Take pains to give them kindly soil, and then to mulch the roots. If carelessly transplanted, they ought to die. Choose small, vigorous trees rather than large ones. Let Dr. Johnson growl as he may about " the frightful interval between the seed and the timber." Plant a few choice specimens singly upon the lawn, with their lower branches resting upon the sod, and their unbroken foliage sweep-ing upward, and floating outward in queenly grace and freedom. Plant some in groups and masses, and so dispose them as to secure depth and richness of color in contrast with lighter shades, always avoiding, however, too great dissimilarity of form. Plant the larger and coarser varieties for outposts and guards, to check the roystering winds, and the smaller for screens and thickets, to hide disagreeable objects, and to conceal pleasant prospects in advance.

By all means, avoid a common and very great fault of planters, viz: setting trees so near to roads and walks that, in a few years, they overspread them, and have to be cut down or be badly mutilated. Study carefully the capacities of every tree before planting it "In bello, non licet bis errari," and this is equally true in planting evergreens. Have you a passion for evergreen shrubbery? Then, try your hand first with the Mahonia, American Yew, Yucca, Ink-berry bush, Box-tree, and Evergreen Thorn, planting them in the shade of other trees, and if you succeed with these, add the native Holly, Laurel, and Rhododendrons, to your list.*

And finally, let not your work end with planting trees and shrubs. Feed them from year to year with generous food, that they make a vigorous growth, and always wear the bright hues of health. And in the words (slightly altered) of an old planter: "What joy may you have in seeing the success of your labors while you live, and in leaving behind you, to your heirs or successors, such a work that, many years after your death, shall record your love to your country? And the rather, when you consider to what length of time your work is like to last".

*The American Holly grows wild as far north as Kew Jersey and Massachusetts; the Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) abounds in Connecticut, and the Rhododendron maximum is found in New York, New Hampshire, and Maine. [By Ink-berry bush, our author doubtless means Prinos glaber. - Ed].