I. 2. THE BLACK OR DOUBLE SPRUCE. 81 



Sp. 2. The Black or Double Spruce. Abies nigra. Michaux. 



Figured in Lambert's Pinus ; Plate 37. 



Michaux ; Sylva, III, Plate 147. 



The two species of spruce, the black and the white, or, as 

 they are more commonly called, the double and the single, are 

 distinguished from the fir and the hemlock, in every stage of 

 growth, by the roughness of the bark on their branches, pro- 

 duced by little ridges, running down from the base of each leaf, 

 and by the disposition of the leaves, which are arranged in spi- 

 rals equally on every side of the young shoots. The double is 

 distinguished from the single spruce, by the darker color of the 

 foliage, whence its name of black spruce, by the greater thick- 

 ness, in proportion to the length, of the cones, and by the loose- 

 ness of the scales, which are jagged or toothed on the edge. 



The trunk of the double spruce is perfectly straight and reg- 

 ularly tapering from the ground to the top. The bark is smooth, 

 covered with thin, narrow scales, which on old trunks become 

 roundish. On the smaller branches and upper part of the 

 trunk, these scales are downward continuations of the leaves, 

 and often come off with them. They are grayish in the mid- 

 dle, edged with brown. 



The branches are in whorls of four or more, but, except on 

 small trees, the whorls are not very distinct, in consequence of 

 the premature decay of two or more of the branches, and of the 

 fact that between the whorls are occasionally scattered single 

 limbs. When a tree stands by itself, in a sheltered situation 

 favorable to its growth, the stages or whorls are regularly dis- 

 posed, and, diminishing gradually in length from the ground to 

 the top, form a conical head of strikingly regular and symmet- 

 rical proportions. To the unpractised eye, this mathematical 

 exactness of shape is beautiful, and the spruce is a favorite 

 tree and is often placed in the near vicinity of houses. But to 

 one studious of variety and picturesque effect, the regular cone 

 becomes stiff and monotonous, and the unvarying dark green 

 of the foliage has a sombre and melancholy aspect. 



The recent shoots are pretty large, covered with a light 

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