5i6 Home Nature-Study Course. 



for the way these beds are made see " Two Little Savages," p. 256. 

 The balsam fir is also first choice for Christmas trees ; in connection 

 with this read Anderson's " Tannenbaum." A peculiarity of the bal- 

 sam tree is that especially when young, blisters filled with resin form 

 on its bark; when these blisters are punctured a beautiful, clear gum, 

 known as Canada balsam flows out, about the consistency of mucilage 

 and as clear as water, which hardens on exposure to the air and becomes 

 amber in color. It should be f=,xplained that resin is not sap of evergreen 

 trees, but is a secretion th?x yevv<'?' the tree well by covering wounds, 

 thus keeping out the spores of fungi. This Canada balsam is used the 

 world over for the mounting of microscopic specimens ; it is also used 

 in medicine. In connection with this let the pupils look up in the cyclo- 

 pedias the story of amber. 



The wood of the balsam fir is weak, coarse and not durable. It is 

 used chiefly for making boxes. From the bark is distilled " the oil of fir." 



Supplementary Reading. — " In the Maine Woods," Thoreau. 

 "Adirondack Sketches," Charles Dudley Warner. " Sam Lovell's 

 Camps," Rowland Robinson. 



LESSON LXXXI. 



THE FOLIAGE AND FRUIT OF THE BALSAM. 



Purpose. — To enable the pupils to identify the tree, and understand 

 the way its seeds are grown and planted. 



Material. — Branches and cones of the balsam fir, and if possible 

 branches of hemlock and spruce. 



The leaves are three-quarters of an inch in length or less and are 

 very blunt at the ends. They are olive-green above and whitish below ; 

 they may be told from the leaves of the hemlock because they set directly 

 on the branch, and have no little leaf-stems as do hemlock leaves; note 

 that in cross section the leaf is flat, and it has a suture above and a 

 corresponding ridge below. Note that there are apparently more leaves 

 on the upper side of the branches than below ; see whether this is really 

 true, or whether the way the leaves are twisted toward the light make it 

 seem so. After the leaves are studied, note if the twigs stand opposite 

 each other on the branch. Note at the tip of the branches that the buds 

 in winter look as if they were varnished. One of the characteristics of 

 the tree is that the cones stand upright. They are purplish in color, 

 blunt and oblong from two to four inches long. Note that the cone 

 scales are wide with the edges entire and that the little pointed bract, 

 not as long as the cone scale, is just below each scale. Note how many 

 seeds are beneath each scale. The cone, the cone scale, bract and seed 

 should be sketched. 



