The Larches 27 



The cones are 1 to 13^ in. long, stalked, and the scales densely coated with 

 down. The pointed bracts, which are attached to the underside of the scale, 

 project beyond the margin and are bent backwards. 



This tree in Canada is found only in southeastern British Columbia. It makes 

 its best growth on heavy, deep soils where there is an abundance of moisture. 

 Sometimes it is found in pure stands but often mixed with lodgepole pine and 

 Douglas fir. 



The wood of the western larch is similar to that of the eastern species. As it 

 is possible to obtain material in large dimensions the wood is used extensively for 

 structural purposes. Sawn into lumber it is used for shipbuilding and house 

 construction. Ties, poles, and piles are also among its more important uses. 



LARIX LYALLII, Pari. ALPINE LARCH 



Common names: Alpine larch, mountain larch, Lyall's larch. 

 French name: Meleze de Lyall. 



The alpine larch is 30 to 40 ft. high and 1 to 2 ft. in diameter. . The trunk 

 tapers very much from the base to the top and is very branchy, and in general the 

 tree has a stunted appearance. The branches, which extend widely and usually 

 turn up at the end, form a very irregular crown. They are tough and not brittle 

 as in the case of the western larch. New shoots are covered with a fine white 

 down. 



The bark is thin, even in old trees, reddish-brown, and furrowed into flat 

 ridges of loose scales. 



The leaves, which drop off in the fall and leave the tree bare, are needle-like, 

 1 to IJ/^ in. long, more or less four-sided in cross-section and are borne in clusters 

 of thirty or more on a sptu-like growth. A cross-section of a leaf shows one resin 

 duct in each of two angles while that of the western larch shows only one. 



The cones are 1}^ to 2 in. long, somewhat larger than those of the western larch, 

 and are reddish-purple in colour. The scales have a fringe of white hair on their 

 margin. The pointed bract attached to the underside of the scales projects out 

 much beyond them and is then bent back. These bracts are not seen in the tama- 

 rack, and in the western larch they are as a rule only slightly bent. 



The alpine larch is strictly a tree of the mountains and forms the upper timber- 

 line in British Columbia and Alberta. Usually it is found at an elevation of 6,500 

 to 7,000 ft. on open, grassy slopes associated with the limber and white-barked 

 pines. 



The wood is used locally only. 



THE SPRUCES 



The spruces (Picea) are widely spread throughout the northern hemisphere. 

 Eighteen species are recognized of which seven occur in North America and five 

 in Canada. Two of the native spruces are confined to the West and one to the 

 East. The other two species are to be found from the Atlantic westward and 

 northward to the mouth of the Mackenzie river on the Arctic ocean. 



