THE SPRUCE, ETC. 299 



of the fertile trees* in the autumn. The leaves are 

 very tiny, and scalelike on the older branches, but 

 awl-shaped or needlelike, sharp, and spreading on 

 the newer ones ; under close scrutiny the foreshort- 

 ened little branchlet is square, and the color, where 

 it is not rusty, is shiny olive-green. The berries, 

 black -purple beneath the bloom, are about as large 

 as small peas.f The bark is brown and fibrous, and 

 sometimes comes off in long shreds, leaving the bare 

 trunk smooth. The wood has an exceedingly spicy 

 odor, and a wonderfully fine, straight grain which is 

 peculiarly adapted to the needs of a lead pencil ; its 

 color is pale brownish-lake red. The red cedar is 

 sparingly distributed, excepting in a few localities 

 throughout the United States. It commonly grows 

 to a height of 20 or 30 feet in the North, but south- 

 ward it attains a height of from 50 to 90 feet. It 

 is not to be found in the White Mountains. 



A near relative of our red cedar, a tree which also 

 possesses picturesque qualities, is the European yew 



* The trees bearing staminate (unfertile) flowers, I am told, 

 are the ones which are most generally tinged with a brown-red 

 or tawny color. 



f I am told that in Bucks County these berries furnish the 

 birds with a plentiful amount of food in midwinter, and that on 

 hot July days the oil is distilled in the hot sun so that the whole 

 region about the trees is filled with the aromatic perfume. Many 

 of the trees are of such dense growth that little or no sunlight 

 penetrates to the ground beneath. 



