btained by the right and limited choice of material.

Although a few Conifers are deciduous, such as the Maidenhair tree
(_Ginkgo biloba_), _Taxodium distichum_, the Golden Larch (_Pseudolarix
Kaempferi_), and the true Larches, the great bulk of the family consists
of evergreens. It is to the Coniferae, indeed, that belong the only
hardy evergreen trees which in stature and size rival the large
deciduous trees of cool temperate latitudes. Although our only native
Conifers are the Yew, the Scotch Pine, and the Juniper, there is a
sufficient variety of soil and climate within the limits of the British
Isles to provide suitable conditions for nearly the whole of the family.
It is only a few sub-tropical species that cannot be accommodated. This
does not imply that the whole of the hardy Conifers can be grown
satisfactorily in any one place. In even the best Conifer localities
there are some species that will not reach perfection, and in the
general run of gardens there is a considerable proportion of species
about which the same must be said. This fact, however, has often been
overlooked.

The extreme popularity of Conifers, which was at its height from forty
to fifty years ago, undoubtedly led to the enriching of the parks and
gardens of this country with what are now, in many instances,
magnificent specimens. To realise how great that enrichment was, one has
only to mention such places as Dropmore, Murthly Castle, Ochtertyre. But
Conifer planting, from both artistic and merely cultural points of view,
was overdone. Conifers began to fill an undue proportion of space in
gardens, and displaced to a large extent the beautiful flower-bearing
deciduous vegetation whose seasonable variations give such charm and
interest. With all their symmetry and richness of hue, the popular
species of Abies and Picea often have a heavy, even sombre, aspect.
Heavy masses of Pine, Spruce, and Fir can never give that changing
aspect in the landscape that comes with deciduous vegetation. The tender
tints of spring, the flowers, the gold and purple of autumn, it is to
these that the seasons of our northern latitudes owe their greatest
delights.

Perhaps the worst of all the uses to which Conifers have been put is
that of forming long avenues across parks. It is difficult to understand
the frame of mind that would prefer rows of _Araucaria_, _Abies
nobilis_, or other similar things--however well grown and pyramidal they
might be--to a noble vi