952 



Rural School Leaflet 



III. RECOGNITION OF TREES IN 1912-1913 



The foJlowing characteristics will be helpful in recognizing the trees 

 that are to be studied this year: 



Spruce, fir, and tamarack. — Norway spruce, which is 

 not native to this country but is extensively planted 

 as an ornamental tree in parks and on lawns, grows 

 to a height of 70 to 80 feet and can be distinguished 

 from the firs, which it resembles closely, by its four- 

 sided needles and by its long, light brownish yellow 

 cones. The needles of the balsam fir are flat and have 

 'JJll a light gray streak on the underside. The cone is dark 



'"^'"'' purple when young, turning dark brown after it is 



fully ripe and has shed its seeds. The bark of the 

 spruce is a reddish giay in color, while the bark of the 

 balsam fir is a light gray and frequently has small blisters on it which con- 

 tain the fluid resin, used in the arts under the name of Canada balsam. 

 The larch tree, or tamarack, can 

 be distinguished from the spruce 

 and fir by its needle-like leaves, 

 which grow in clusters of ten or 

 more and which fall off at the 

 end of the growing season just as 

 do the leaves of the broad-leaved 

 trees. In the summer time the 

 tamarack has a sparse, fringe-like 

 foliage that gives very little shade. 



Flowers of the tamarack. — About the time that the leaves are coming 

 out, in early May, the flowers of the tamarack are very beautiful and are 



worthy of close inspection. The 

 male, or staminate, flowers have 

 many yellowish anthers on short 

 stalks, arranged spirally. The 

 female, or pistillate, flowers are 

 composed of many rose-red scales, 

 also arranged spirally, and are 

 accompanied by rose-colored bracts 

 with long green tips. When the 

 cones are present on the tree 

 they give it a warmth of color that harmonizes very beautifully with the 

 feathery foliage, which is also unfolding at the same time. 



Balsam fir 



Tamarack, or larch 



