Great Destruction Of Evergreens

From tbo N. Y. Jonrnal of Commcrce. From Virginia to tho Canadian shores, and from tho oastern slope of the Rocky Mountains to tho Atlantic, tho evergreens are dead or dying. ilillions of dollars' worth of hardy plants, that havo for yeara withstood our Northern winters, now show tho ravages of the zero weather of ths last season. Norway spruce, pino, arbor vitas, junípera, rhododondrons, dwarf and standard roses in public parks and privato gardens havo " put on tho Bere and yellow leaf," their synibols of decay. Long Island has suffored soveroly. In tho gardeiiB at Astoria, whore immonso numbers of evergreens wero growing for sale, the loss is ostimatod at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Kows of arbor vitffl, containing thousands of plants, are absolutely valueless. Prospect Park and tho privato gardens in Brooklyn havo not been sparod in the general disaster, and the gardeners at Central Park, N"ow York, pronouaco the loss in those grounds almost in-eparablo. At Flatbush, L. L, anti in Westchester County the loss has been very great. Some of the nursorymen have lost thcir entiro stock. In other places tho effect has been peculiar. Plants of the same age and apparent health, growing in long rows, have been touchedvt inturvals of a fow feet. Tho first doïoa in tho row aro dead, and tho noxt half dozen ara well and thrifty. In Brooklyn the plants on tho north and east side of the houses havo sufferod most. In New Jersey the horticulturists have notioed that plauts which wero shadod from the wiutei; sun have escapod the worst efi'ects of tho seasou, and may be saved with ïuuch troublo and time. The reports from the vicinity of Boston and further east confirm tho sad tidicgs of what was only rumor a few weoka ago, and from the great nurseries at Boehester, tho Ohio valley and even further west, the words como to us, " Our evergreens are dead." Tho causes assigned for this loss are various, but from among them the following may be taken as having in them tho most of probability : First, it is said that the warm days of Eebruary gave the plan is an early start, as if spring had roally oponed, and then, when all were swelling wit h the new life, the weather changed again to h;ird winter, frcezing with the cold March winds. Another view is that the plants were killed very early in tho winter. There was not a gradual diminntion of tho temperature as in forraer years, but the season canie suddenly upon the plants beforo thoy were propcrly shielded or preparod for it. Their color changed slightly, but not enough to cause alarm, and l although the jilants ruinained green, they ■wero dead. Only when the warm weather of tho last few weoks started the other plants into general activity was the damago to the evergreens visible. In support of tho tirst theory it is observed that in one place on the Hudson, a privato garden, there were sevsral rine specimens of the golden-bark arbor vites. They had bo ?n covered nearly all of tho winter. During tho warm days of Fobruary thoy were exposed and seemed remarkably vigorous. They had not boen covored since, and are now doad. Whero tho uew supply will come from is as yot a mattor of conjecture. Nursorymen are af raid to purchase the few plaats oft'erod for salo until the season is moro ttdvanced. Many think they could save somo ot their stock by careuüly nUTsi&g it for two or throc ycars, but tho ground is too valuable to be usod for that purpose, and tho evergreens wili be ent down and cast away. Thero are many sorrowful iaces among the nuröerymen, and some of them will be sorely triecl in the effort to rocover from tho Ios3 inilicted by tho death of the evergreens. íe Pingan rgs