rubs can compare with or take the place of our Yews and
Hollies. However large a collection of exotics may be in a well-stocked
arboretum, a winter walk among them only shows that there is nothing
more cheerfully handsome than our Hollies, or more solemnly dignified
than our Yews. On dry, sandy soils no Conifer is better for England
than the Scotch Fir; or for moist, loamy regions and valley bottoms none
is better than the Spruce. Exception is sometimes taken to the Spruce;
and when planted in other than the place it likes it is, indeed, a
wretched object, as on dry and hilly grounds. But a mass of Common
Spruce in a cool, alluvial bottom is a picture of well-being, and no one
can deny their majesty on alpine hillsides. The Douglas Fir is sometimes
recommended in its stead, but this beautiful and quick-growing tree must
still be regarded as an experiment. There is not as yet a single old
Douglas Fir, and there are some among our botanical experts who are yet
in doubt whether, for all its young vigour, it will be a lasting tree
for our country. For dry uplands in light soil there is the lovely
Juniper, best of all its kind (though often in nurseries foreign ones
only are offered to its exclusion), and for chalky soils and loams the
Box luxuriates, and can be used as a small tree, as well as in its usual
bush form.

The use of Common Ivy should not be forgotten. Tree or bush ivies are
amongst the most beautiful and effective of winter plants, all flowering
from October to January. A noble evergreen is the tree form of _Ivy
amurensis_.

In Ireland we have the Arbutus _Unedo_, and _A. Andrachne_ is a tree
once seen will always be remembered; its coloured bark is very
beautiful.

IMPORTANCE OF A SUITABLE CLIMATE.--Evergreen shrubs luxuriate generally
in the climate of the British Isles, especially in the southern and
western counties, and constitute one of the great glories of the English
garden, delighting in these sea-bound islands, with their cool and moist
atmosphere.

It has been established, therefore, that the evergreen seeks an equable
climate, free from extremes of cold and heat, and with an even supply of
moisture to both leaf and root, favouring in a marked degree the
sea-coast with its salt-laden winds. As we travel south, so
opportunities for growing an increasing variety of evergreen trees and
shrubs become more apparent, until, in the south of Cornwall and the
south-west of Ireland, things may be planted