50 



The Farm Woodlot 



the tree except the slender axis to which the cone scales 

 were attached. The wood is light, soft, not strong, 

 coarse-grained, brownish yellow in color and is very 

 perishable in the soil. It furnishes poor lumber and is 

 largely used for fuel; also for poor-grade lumber used 

 largely for making packing boxes. The firs are used to 

 some extent for ornamental planting about farmhouses, 

 and the average northern woodlot usually has some 

 balsam firs scattered among the other trees. 



THE COMMON FIR 



The hemlock 



Of the four hemlocks in the United States, two are 

 eastern and two are western. Of the eastern species, 

 Tsuga canadensis is found usually among the trees of the 

 woodlot or farm forest throughout the northern states 

 from Minnesota eastward. The hemlocks are large trees 

 with many limbs and a rough, reddish bark. The leaves 

 are arranged on opposite sides of the branches and are 

 short and shiny above and light colored beneath. The 

 cones are very small for such a large tree and occur on 

 the ends of the branches. The wood is brittle, coarse- 

 grained, stiff and splintery and hard to work. It decays 

 very quickly when used in moist places. The bark is 



