CORNISH FLAT, N.H. The Canadian or Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is, in my opinion, an under-utilized landscape tree. Perhaps they are spurned as too common, or rejected because they get too big.

Between 1880 and 1930, Canadian hemlock was an important part of the leather industry. Trees were felled into lakes, and then their bark was removed for tannin and the wood sent to mills. Now, this ...