Dendrology 



47 



THE KINDS OP LARCHES 



The spruces. Fig. 5 



There are seven native spruces in the United States, 

 three of which occur in the East. Of these three, the red 

 spruce is the most important. White spruce is next in 

 value and the black spruce of least value. The Norway 

 spruce is a native of Europe and has been introduced into 

 this country largely as an ornamental tree. It is a rapid- 

 growing and comparatively short-lived tree. The conical 

 crown with its beautiful drooping branches becomes open 

 and ragged after about thirty years. The spruces are 

 important timber trees. The soft, light- colored straight- 

 grained wood has many very important uses. The red 

 spruce furnishes the best wood for sounding-boards used 

 for all kinds of musical instruments, and the white spruce 

 supplies the best material for wood pulp from which 

 paper is made. The spruces are readily distinguished 

 from the other cone-bearing trees, chiefly by their leaves. 



