SOMR TRKES YOU :\rAY KNOW. 273 



SOME TREES YOU MAY KNOW. 



BY CHARLES E. BESSEY. 



Although Nebraska was largely treeless when white men came across 

 the river, there are now more than a hundred different kinds of trees 

 that one may see in almost any place in the eastern part of the state, 

 and it adds much to one's pleasure to be able to tell what they are. 

 I have often wondered how it would seem if I were to find myself unable 

 to recognize the trees in our forests and parks. I am sui-e that half 

 of my enjoyment of out-of-door life would be taken away if I did not 

 have a "speaking acquaintance" with the trees. It would be like being 

 in a company of pleasant people, all of them strangers, instead of 

 familiar acquaintances. Therefore if you will, I shall be glad to in- 

 troduce you to some of our more common trees. Of course in a short 

 article like this I cannot mention all of our trees. 



Evergreens. 



Every park and almost every dooryard if large enough has some trees 

 that retain their leaves through the year. They are green in the sum- 

 mer, of course, but .when the fall comes they do not let their leaves 

 fall (th-> falling leaves give the name to the season), but retain them 

 all winter; so such trees are always green, hence "evergreen." In the 

 north the only trees that are evergreen are the pines, spruces, firs, 

 hemlocks, and cedars, and these may be told from one another very 

 easily. Go to any evergi'een tree in one of our parks and you will find it 

 possible to tell at a glace to which of these it belongs. If it has long, 

 very narrow, stiff leaves that look like needles, it is a pine. In all of 

 our pines the leaves are two in a place, or three, or five. If the tree you 

 find has short leaves, that are needle shaped, 4-angled, and always one in 

 a place, it is a spruce, while if the leaves are short and flattish, but 

 still one in a place, it is a fir. Lastly if the leaves are very small and like 

 little green scales crowded and overlapping one another it is some kind of 

 a cedar. These facts may be shown as follows: 



Leaves narrow, needle shaped — 



1. Leaves, (needles) 2, 3, or 5 in a place Pines (Pinus) 



2. Leaves one in a place. 



a. Leaves 4-angled Spruces (Picea) 



&. Leaves flattish Fir (Abies) 



3. 1. eaves very small, scale-like Cedars (Thtiya and Juniperus) 



If now we look at the pines we shall find that it is not difficult to 

 distinguish several kinds, as follows: 



A. Leaves long, needle-shaped, stout, in twos. 



1. Leaves less than 2 inches long Jack Pine (Pinus divaricata) 



2. Leaves about 2 or 3 inches long; large tree, 



Scotch Pine (Pintis sylvestris) 



