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INTRODUCTION 



This book has been prepared to meet a growing demand on the Forestry- 

 Branch for pubHcations of this kind. In it are described over one hundred tree 

 species native to Canada, including all the commercial species and many of minor 

 or no economic importance. Several of the species described are ordinarily little 

 better than shrubs but are found in arborescent form somewhere in their natural 

 range of occurrence. No distinct line can be drawn between trees and shrubs. 

 They grade one into the other. Many trees are reduced to mere bushes when 

 growing under unfavourable circumstances. 



The descriptions have for the most part been confined to those features of the 

 tree by which it may be readily recognised in the field and, in order that the book 

 may best serve its purpose, terms which are unfamiliar to one who has not made a 

 study of botany have been avoided as far as possible. [Those desiring a more com- 

 plete and scientific description are recommended to consult such well known 

 books as Sargent's "Manual of the Trees of North America" or Gray's "New Manual 

 of Botany."] 



The description includes in the case of the more important commercial species 

 a brief paragraph on the physical properties and uses of the wood. Where a genus 

 is represented by many species, especially when they occur in the same range or 

 where there is likely to be confusion between trees of different genera, their dis- 

 tinguishing features have been arranged in tabular form for the sake of ease in 

 comparison. 



The region over which each species occurs naturally in Canada is briefly 

 described in the text and in some cases is shown by the hatched areas on accom- 

 panying maps. It is not claimed that these descriptions and maps are absolutely 

 correct, as the exact range of many of the species has not yet been clearly defined, 

 especially of those trees extending into the unsettled north. However, from the 

 reports of surveyors and explorers, as well as from a knowledge of the requirements 

 of each species in regard to soil, climate, etc., the approximate range of the more im- 

 portant ones has been fairly well determined. 



The province of Ontario, and especially that portion of it forming the peninsula 

 between the Great Lakes, possesses a greater variety of tree species than any other 

 part of the Dominion. Here are found growing trees occurring nowhere else in 

 Canada. Trees such as the tulip, chestnut, black gum, papaw, flowering dogwood, 

 and others characteristic of the forests of Ohio and other states to the south, reach 

 their northern limits here. Similarly in the province of British Columbia, the mild 

 and humid climate of the southern coast, Vancouver island, and portions of the 

 Columbia and Kootenay valleys permits the occurrence of many species which 

 are typical of more southern forests and which are not found elsewhere in Canada. 



