240 FIRST BOOK OF FORESTRY 



Our important cone-bearing trees all belong to the pine 

 family. In the pines the leaves are needle-shaped and 

 long (up to twelve inches), while in spruce, balsam, etc., 

 they are short, and in most of our cedars they are mere 

 green scales, closely appressed to the twig. 



Arranging the groups of the pine family according to 

 leaf, fruit, and bark, we have the following simple scheme : 



CONIFERS 

 I. Pines, spruces, etc. 



Bark smooth or rough but never stringy. Leaves needle-shaped. 

 Fruit a woody cone of many scales. 



A. Leaves in bundles or clusters. 



a. Pines. Leaves in bundles of two to five in a com- 



mon sheath (Fig. 89). Among pines we have 

 approximately : 



(1) Leaves five in a bundle : white pines (Fig. 45). 



(2) Leaves three in a bundle : yellow pines (Fig. 89), 



including our southern and western lumber 

 pines. 



(3) Leaves two in a bundle : Norway pine, jack pines, 



and pinons. 



b. Larch or Tamarack. The short, light green leaves, 



in clusters of ten and more, are not in a common 

 sheath and are deciduous (Fig. 89). 



B. Leaves singly scattered over the twig. 



1. The cones are pendulous, i.e., hang downward ; they cling 

 to the twig for months after they are ripe, and do not 

 fall to pieces by the dropping away of the scales. 



