THE SPRUCE, ETC. 



289 



gent odor,* which is a sufficient and certain means 

 for the identification of the tree. 



The general color of the white spruce is light 

 olive-green (that is, in young trees) with a sugges- 

 tion of surface bloom. The tree 

 is exceedingly ornamen- 

 tal, and assumes 

 a perfect cone 

 shape when its 

 growth is unim- 

 peded. It attains a 

 height of from 20 

 to 100 feet, and is 

 common in the ex- 

 treme Northern States 



from Maine to Minnesota. The wood is beautifully 

 clear and white, and is extensively used for interior 

 finish. The best and clearest quality of white spruce 

 I can only compare with satinwood. 

 Colorado Blue Spruce. The Colorado spruce, sometimes 



Picea pungens. called silver spruce, is a Rocky 

 Mountain species frequently cultivated in our East- 

 ern parks and gardens ; there are several beautiful 

 but small specimens in the Arnold Arboretum near 

 .Boston. There is also a charming larger specimen 



White Spruce Cones. 



* It is unpleasantly suggestive of the feline tribe. 



