48 Forest Trees and Shrubs of Meriden, Conn, 



2. PINUS RIGIDA. (Miller.) 



Pitch Pine. 



A medium size tree, forty to seventy feet high, with stem one to 

 three feet in diameter. Wood light, soft, not strong, brittle, 

 coarse-grained, compact. It is full of resin, and generally so well 

 studded with knots as to be of little value except for fuel. When 

 self-planted on the poorest of sandy land it grows at the rate of an 

 inch in diameter in three or four years in the first twenty-five years. 

 Largely used for charcoal. Specific gravity, 0.5151 ; ash, 0.23. 



3. PINUS RESINOSA. (Aiton.) 



Red Pine. Norway Pine. 



This tree is not very common in Meriden ; it is often confounded 

 with Norway Spruce. In Europe the name is given to quite an- 

 other tree. It grows here as rapidly as Pitch Pine, and sometimes 

 to a greater height, often as high as eighty feet. Wood light, not 

 strong, hard, rather coarse grained, compact and quite durable. 

 Very resinous. Used for all purposes of construction, flooring, 

 piles, etc. Specific gravity, 0.4854; ash, 0.27. 



4. ABIES CANADENSIS. (Michaux.) 



Hemlock. Hemlock Spruce. 



This was once a very common tree in Meriden, but is becoming 

 rapidly thinned out. At first it is of slow growth and very deli- 

 cate, requiring shelter, but when once started it grows with great 

 rapidity, often reaching a height of nearly a hundred feet, with 

 stem three to six feet in diameter. Wood light colored, very coarse- 

 grained, soft, brittle, difficult to work. It is extensively employed 

 for roof boards aad sheathing, as it holds a nail well. The bark 

 is rich in tannin, and is in great demand for tanning leather. From 

 Hemlock is obtained Canada Pitch or Gum Hemlock, and is used 

 very much in plasters. The Oil of Hemlock is used in liniment. 

 A decoction of the bark is often used as an astringent. Specific 

 gravity, 0.4239; ash, 0.46. 



5. ABIES NIGRA. (Poiret.) 



Black Spruce. Double Spruce. 



Sometimes called Red Spruce. This is cultivated as an orna- 

 mental shade tree, although it often grows to the height of seventy- 

 five feet. Wood light, soft, not strong, straight-grained, compact. 



