328 MINNESOTA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
THE SPRUCES AND THEIR USES AND VALUE. 
WM. S. DEDON, TAYLOR’S FALLS. 
To persons not accustomed to handling or seeing the different 
varieties of evergreens, their distinguishing features seem to them - 
an endless tangle that will never be straightened out, 
The true coniferz, or cone bearing trees, may be divided into three 
natural classes: the pines, firs and larches. The fir, as distinguished 
from the others, has its needle-like leaves arranged singly on the 
branches and notinclusters. Originally the term fir was applied 
to the Scotch pine by our Scandinavian forefathers, but since it has 
come to be more commonly applied to the trees belonging to the 
genera Abies and Picea. At the present time most botanists apply 
the word fir to the genus Abies and spruce to that of Picea, but 
there are still others who use the terms just opposite. Itis not our 
object to argue the botany question here; we will not attempt to 
form a division, but use the more inclusive term of fir,as a boundary 
for the domains of this article. 
We are naturally more interested in those species which are in- 
cluded in the flora of our own state, and therefore we will consider 
them first, although they may not be of prime importance to the 
horticulturist. 
Throughout the northern and north-eastern portion of the state, 
in a section where the pine is rapidly disappearing (if it has not al- 
ready ceased to exist), we still find another evergreen, which seems 
to be at home in a soil that is of a peaty nature and too damp for 
the former to grow upon. This is the black spruce, Picea nigra. 
In moist locations they grew very closely and quite luxuriantly, mak- 
ing tall, slender trees that are almost barren of branches. Gener- 
ally they are crowned with an immense number of small, weather- 
beaten cones. In this species they adhere to the trees for several 
years and give to it that dismal and dingy appearance which makes 
it so objectionable as an ornamental evergreen. 
Interspread among the black spruce and on the higher ground 
back, we see a variety much similar to it when small, but easily 
showing its superiority as age advances and enlivens the color of 
its foliage. The white spruce, Picea alba, is one of the most hand- 
some and valuable timber and ornamental trees we have. It is 
found more plentifully farther north in the Canadian provinces, 
and stands more cold than any of the other spruces. Seedlings of 
this species are not very abundant, and, hence, the black spruce is 
often substituted intentionally. 
A tree much resembling the white spruce in appearance from a 
distance, is the balsam, Abies balsamea, which makes a longer, ro- 
bust tree in rich, moist situations. Itis quite abundant but not very 
desirable for ornamental use, owing to the fact that it is short lived 
and does not withstand drought well. 
Farther to the east and northeast. of us, we find still another 
species, which often attains gigantic proportions—but only an 
occasional hemlock spruce is seen among our flora. It is a valuable 
timber tree, but the tree planters of our state have apparently erased 
