218 TREES OF MINNESOTA. 



in autumn or winter of first year; scales thin, with entire mar- 

 gins, not rigid; seeds small, with thin wings. A graceful tree 

 of pyramidal habit and horizontal branches, sometimes attaining 

 a height of over 100 feet, with a diameter of two feet. There are 

 several varieties of value for ornamental planting. 



Distribution. In the United States it is found in Northern 

 Maine and westward in certain localities to Montana. It is also 

 found in Newfoundland and Labrador, westward to the Rocky 

 Mountains and north to Alaska. It reaches its best development 

 growing in moist soil. It is found more or less throughout 

 Northeastern Minnesota, but is especially abundant near the 

 northern boundary. 



Propagation. The species is grown from seeds and the varie- 

 ties by grafting. The seeds of the White Spruce are often in- 

 fested by a weevil, which fact, together with their small size and 

 the difficulty in gathering them, makes them high in price and 

 often difficult to obtain. On account of the ease with which Nor- 

 way Spruce seeds are obtained they are preferably sold by nur- 

 serymen. 



Properties of Wood. Light, soft, compact, straight grained, of 

 only moderate strength, nearly odorless; color, light yellow; 

 sapwood hardly distinguishable. Specific gravity, 0.4051; weight 

 of a cubic foot, 25.25 pounds. 



Uses. The White Spruce is one of the best evergreens for 

 planting in this section, generally rather slow in. growth, but 

 forming pretty conical trees. The wood is largely used for gen- 

 eral construction, spars, canoe and boat building, oars, paddles, 

 tripods, step ladders, baseball bats, flooring, sounding boards for 

 musical instruments, paper pulp, nail kegs, casks, lime and 

 cement barrels, butter tubs and pails, excelsior and charcoal. It 

 is not distinguished from Black Spruce in commerce. Spruce 

 chewing gum is, in part, the product of this tree. 



Picea mariana. (/'. nigra.) Black Spruce. Double 



Spruce. 



Leaves deep green, short, about one-half inch in length, scat- 

 tered thickly over the branches, falling during the fourth and 

 fifth seasons. Cones ovoid, oblong, one to one and three-quar- 

 ter inches long, persistent; scales very thin, rigid, with an 



