i6 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



AMERICAN FOREST TREES. 



White Spruce. 

 Picea canadensis — Mill. 

 The range of growth of white spruce is 

 from Labrador nearly to the shores of the 

 Arctic Ocean, extending to sixty-six degrees 

 north latitude and westward to the shores of 

 Bering Strait; the species extends south- 

 ward along the Atlantic Coast as far as the 



lyPICAL FOREST GROWTH ■RTIITE 



SPRUCE, ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS, 



NETVV YORK. 



northern New England states and New York ; 

 westward along its southern boundary in 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, Dakota, along the 

 Eocky mountains of northern Montana and 

 up into the interior of Alaska. The tree is 

 often planted for ornamental purposes in the 

 northern states and Canada, but if taken 



SE\ENTV-FIFTH PAPER. 



much further south perishes from heat and 

 dryness. 



Its preferred habitat is the shores of lakes 

 and streams, and along ocean cliffs; in the 

 far north, the rocky slopes of foot-hills. 

 Along the southern boundary it requires con- 

 siderable moisture, and near the coast line 

 of southern Xew England and Xew York 

 it is found thrifty and well developed in 

 many a swamp and bog. Under favorable 

 conditions and with ample space around it, it 

 forms a symmetrical, pyramidal head with 

 dense foUage, but when in the heart of the 

 forest it attains a much greater height, and 

 of course shows less tendency to branch out. 

 lu the latter case it sometimes reaches a 

 licight of 150 feet, with a trunk three to 

 four feet in diameter, but such specimens are 



AVhite spruce is the common name applied 

 to the tree in Vermont, New Hampshire, 

 Massachusetts, New York, AVisconsin, Michi- 

 },'au, Minnesota and Ontario; it is known as 

 single spruce in Maine, Vermont and Minne- 

 sota; as bog spruce in New England; as 

 skunk spruce in other parts of New Eng- 

 land, Wisconsin and Ontario — the latter name 

 being applied to it because of its ill-smelling 

 foliage and twigs; it is also known as cat 

 spruce and double spruce in Xew England, 

 and as pine in the Hudson Bay district. 



The bark of white spruce is grayish brown, 

 breaking up into scaly discs. The leaves are 

 a light olive green, needle shaped, and sharply 

 pointed; half to three-quarters of an inch 

 long, pubescent and glaucous when young. 



The staminate flowers are a dull red, soon 

 appearing yellow from their dense coating of 

 pollen; the pistillate flowers are pale red. 

 The fruit is a cone from one to two inches 

 long, of a pale green color, later turning to a 

 tan, and shed almost as soon as opened; it is 

 terminal, growing at the ends of the branch- 

 lets. 



The wood of white spruce is light, yellow, 

 brittle, soft and not very strong; it is 

 straight-grained and the sapwood can hardly 

 be distinguished from the heart; in the east- 

 cm provinces of Canada and to some extent 

 in Alaska it is manufactured into lumber, but 

 used only as a handy substitute for more de- 

 sirable species; occasionally, however, it is 

 employed as interior finish, and good speci- 

 mens have been compared to satinwood in ap- 

 pearance. 



The pale bark and light foliage and wood 

 easily account for the name white spruce, and 

 by these features and its ill-smelling leaves 

 and twigs, it may be easily known. In dis- 

 tinguishing the tree from other conifers, 

 Lounsberry says: "As the tall shaft of the 

 white spruce raises itself above the level of 

 surrounding things and spreads its branches 

 until they form a cone-shaped outline, it 

 stands distinct and clear against the monoton- 

 ous sky-line. Nature shows us many little 



differences; nothing to her is insignificant. 

 We notice therefore that the needles of the 

 spruces have fine and sharp points, and that 

 they are arranged all about and on every side 

 of the little branehlets. The fir trees have 

 blunt-pointed needles, and the under sides of 

 their twigs are not covered by them. That 

 this tree may not be confused with the black 

 spruce, its bark and foliage are both lighter 

 in coloring; and the scales of its cones are 

 thinner and more papery to the touch than 

 either those of the black or red spruce. ' ' 



The inferiority of white spruce lumber for 

 commercial purposes has been the means of 

 saving it for a comparatively new industry, 

 paper pulp manufacture. While large quan- 

 tities have been lumbered for this purpose, 

 the tree readily reproduces itself, and cut- 

 over mountain sides, if not burned, come up 



FOLIAGE AND CONE OF WHITE SPK 



densely to spruce and fir, and elsewhere re- 

 production is good as a rule. 



A trained forester at present in the em- 

 ploy of a large eastern concern engaged in the 

 pulp industry relates that when placed in 

 charge of the company 's spruce tracts in 

 Maine and New Hampshire he was astonished 

 at the great and needless waste in logging, 

 and doubtless the methods of this company 

 are similar to those of a great many others 

 in this respect. Economy had been given lit- 

 tle thought, and strange to say the worst 

 oiTenders were some of the company's most 

 valued men. The amount of effort necessary 

 on the part of the forester to get them to 

 pick up small items was amixzing. For years 

 they had been judged mainly ly the cost of 

 their logging. "Cheap logs, cheap logs," 

 had been dinned into their ears until they 



