420 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



seeds that they sometimes eat them before they are matured and 

 take nearly all the crop. The lumber from this tree is used princi- 

 pally for framing-, flooring, wainscoting, car sills and ship build- 

 ing. 



The white pine is the most important of our native pines, although 

 it is not as hardy as the others spoken of. It is one of the fastest 

 growing and, perhaps, the most graceful evergreen fpr ornamental 

 purposes. We find this evergreen growing in a clayey soil, but it 

 also grows rapidly on any retentive land. On poor soils the jack 

 and Norway pines soon crowd it out. This pine has nearly the 

 same distribution in good land in Minnesota as the Norway, al- 

 though it extends rather further south. When planted in exposed 

 localities the young trees should be somewhat sheltered, as they are 

 liable to be killed by the dry winds of early spring. 



It is a large, magnificent tree, and its round, pendulous cones 

 (four to six inches long) mingled with its long, green leaves give a 

 fine appearance. Of all the native trees, the white pine is the most 

 important and valuable and yields the best lumber. The lumber 

 does not swell or shrink much, is soft, light, straight grained, easily 

 worked, of good color and is especially valuable for eash, doors, 

 blinds, shingles and for general building purposes. 



The white spruce is a good evergreen for ornamental purposes. It 

 reaches its best development in the northeastern part of the state, in 

 moist soils, and is very common near the international boundary. It 

 is a very pretty tree with dark green foliage (which is one-half to 

 one inch long), growing up rather slowly but in a graceful, pyra- 

 midal habit, with horizontal branches, and occasionally reaching 

 the height of 100 feet. The wood is much used for flooring, paper 

 pulp and sounding boards for musical instruments. The tree is 

 very beautiful but not so hardy as some. 



The home of the black spruce is in Ihe swamps in the northern 

 part of the state. It is a poor ornamental tree, as its lowerbranches 

 soon die and with the dead, persistent cones in them make an un- 

 sightly appearance. It is a short lived tree on dry land in this 

 section, and while it sometimes attains sufficient size to be used for 

 lumber yet it is destined to be used most extensively for paper 

 pulp. 



The white cedar, or arbor vitce, is found growing in cold swamps 

 and along river banks and lake shores in moist soils. It is common 

 in the northeastern portion of the state but is scattered south as far 

 as the southeastern portion of Winona county. It is not found in 

 the western or southwestern part of the state. The atbor vitse is a 

 very popular coniferae for forming evergreen hedges, as it takes 

 such a close, compact form when pruned. Its light, green color and 

 peculiar habit of the branches and flattened twigs gives it a very 

 handsome appearance. 



It stands well in this section if in a well protected location and in 

 good, retentive soil, but suffers if not well supplied with moisture. 

 The wood is used for telegraph poles, fence posts, paving blocks 

 and shingles. This tree grows from fifty to sixty feet high and when 

 planted close together and kept trimmed closely, forms beautiful 

 hedges as well as windbreaks. 



