1905] Botanical Branch. 207 



years after the big- fire, he saw poplars growing, and seventeen 

 years after the pine trees were one foot thick at the stump. He 

 believed that trees flourished best when thickly planted. He had 

 noted the fact that pine trees growing in light soil had lighter 

 colored leaves than those grown in richer and darker loam. 

 Mr. Stewart pointed out that broad-leaved trees and other forest 

 weeds killed smaller pines. Mr. W. T. Macoun further remarked 

 that during an outing last fall with Mr. Elwes, of England, an 

 enthusiastic forester, when a traverse was made from Kingsmere 

 to the Gatineau river, through the forest, they had noticed young 

 pine trees growing almost invariably upon the decaying trunks of 

 fallen trees. He believed that the Scotch pine would thrive in 

 America, and in our Northwest especially would be a welcome 

 grower. Seedlings of the Scotch pine {Pinus sylvestris) grown in 

 Canada at the Central Experimental Farm had already been 

 planted. There were three Old Country trees in Canada doing 

 very well, namely, the Scotch pine, the Norway spruce, and the 

 European larch. 



Among the specimens exhibited were P. inops from the New 

 Jersey barrens, and P. Tceda from Georgia. 



The Three Spruces. 



Mr. W. T. Macoun then spoke on the three spruces, Picea 

 rubra, P. nigra and P. alba. The first grew in the east only, 

 while the other two grew from Prince Edward Island to the 

 Rockies. Black spruce grew in damp and wet places ; white 

 spruce grew best on the margins of swamps or edges of moist 

 land; whilst red spruce grew on farms on high lands. He exhi- 

 bited specimens of eleven spruces growing at the Central Experi- 

 mental Farm, amongst which we note : P. Omorica, P. ortentalts, 

 P. excelsa, P. Engehiiam, P. obovata, P. Sttchensis, P. punge?is, 

 P. Alcockiana, besides fine examples of the three Canadian spruces, 

 black, white and red. Mr. Macoun pointed out the differences 

 which existed between the various species shown, as well as their 

 resemblances. 



Prof. Macoun pointed out, and Mr. Stewart supported him in 

 the view, that the black spruce (so-called) of commerce in New 



