34 Common Trees 



HEMLOCK 



Tsuga canadensis, (L.) Carriere 



THE Hemlock, also called Spruce Pine and Hemlock 

 Spruce, is an important forest tree with a very pleasing 

 and graceful appearance. As an ornamental tree it has few 

 equals and as a timber tree it stands in the front rank. 



HEMLOCK 

 One-half natural size. 



The leaves are flat, J^ of an inch long, rounded or 

 notched at apex, dark green and glossy above, with two 

 white lines on lower surface, joined to the twigs by short 

 and slender woody stalks. They are spirally arranged, but ap- 

 pear as if arranged in two flat rows alongside the twigs. A 

 third row of small leaves point forward on the top of the 



twigs. • 1 1 



The cones are oblong, light brown, ^4 of an mch long, 

 short-stalked. They often persist throughout the winter. 

 The cone-scales are about as wide as long. 



The outer bark is reddish-brown and scaly; the inner is 

 cinnamon red. If one takes a pocket-knife and bores into 

 the inner bark and finds it cinnamon red he has a positive dis- 

 tinguishing characteristic of this tree. The twigs arc very 

 slender, grayish-brown, at first hairy, and rough when needle- 

 leaves are shed. 



The wood is hard, weak, brittle, liable to splmter and 

 difficult to work. It is used for coarse lumber, boxes, crates 

 and pulp, and the bark is rich in tannin. 



The Hemlock is found from Nova Scotia to Minnesota 

 and south to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, and 

 along the mountains to Alabama. This tree occurs locally 

 throughout eastern Ohio, where it is confined chiefly to sand- 

 stone soils. It has also been planted extensively for orna- 

 mental and windbreak purposes in many parts of the State, 

 and locally for forestry purposes. It is a shade-Ioving tree 

 and not very windfirm. It usually reaches a height of 60 to 

 80 feet, but may become 100 or more feet high and 4 feet 

 in diameter. 



