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The Commercial Spruces 



Seven species of spruce grow in the United States, all of which 

 are valuable when obtainable in commercial quantities. The spruce 

 lumber in the markets is supplied principally by three species, red, 

 black, and Sitka, with considerable additions from two others, the 

 white and the Engelmann spruces. The blue and the weeping 

 spruces have not yet made important contributions to the country's 

 forest products. 



altitudes of from 5,000 to 11,500 feet. The best trees are from 

 one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet high and four and five 

 feet in diameter; but the average size is much smaller. One of 

 the objectionable features of lumber cut from this species is the 

 multitude of small knots. Occasionally clear lumber may be had 

 from old trees, and it compares favorably with the best spruce of 

 the country. 



TVriC.^r- FOREST GKOWTII HED SPRUCE 



The weeping spruce (Picea hrcin rUina) is very local. It grows 

 on the Siskiyou mountains of northern California and southern 

 Oregon. 



Blue spruce (Picea pumyana) has a wider range, but the quality 

 is not large. It is found in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, at alti- 

 tudes of 6,500 to 10,000 feet above sea level. This is often seen 

 in cultivation, and is easily recognized by its blue foliage. Four 

 varieties have been developed by cultivation. 



Kngelmann spruce (Picea engelmarmi) is coming into commer- 

 cial importance. It is a western mountain tree, also, ranging from 

 British Columbia to Arizona and New Mexifn. and growing at 



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TYl-ICAL FOREST GROWTH BL.\CK SPRUCE 



The commercial spruces are usually considered to be the red, black, 

 white, and Sitka. 



White spruce (Picca <anodensis) is the least important of the 

 four from the lumberman's standpoint, yet its wide range and its 

 ability to endure the bleak climate of the far North, make it 

 a valuable wood. It extends from Labrador to Bering Strait, and is 

 found almost to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The southern 

 limit of its range passes through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, 

 New York, Micliigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Mon 

 tana, and British Columbia. Attempts to grow it for ornivmentai 

 purposes in warm climates generally fail, as it thrives only in colrl 



