CHAPTER TWENTY 



SPRUCE AND FIR 



I remember, I remember, 

 The fir trees dark and high ; 

 I used to think their slender tops 

 Were close against the sky. 



HOOD 



SPRUCE and fir resemble pines in having the branches 

 arranged in whorls ; that is, several branches grow in a 

 circle at the same level. They differ from pines in 

 having the leaves scattered on the branchlets instead 

 of being arranged in clusters. They grow as forest trees 

 in the northern parts of the United States and in our 

 Western mountains, but spruce trees have been exten- 

 sively planted in cemeteries and near dwellings in other 

 parts of the country. Besides affording dense shade, 

 these trees are ornamental and break the force of the 

 wind. Many thousands of young spruce and fir trees 

 are sold each year as Christmas trees. At the holiday 

 season children who live hundreds of miles from the for- 

 ests where these trees grow become familiar with them. 



Kinds of spruce. The blue spruce from Colorado has 

 foliage of a bluish color. From the main branches the 

 longer branchlets droop. When not trimmed, the low- 

 est branches are near the ground and the tree is shaped 

 like a cone. 



The Norway spruce sometimes grows two or three 

 feet in one season and is the species most commonly 

 found in cultivation. Its branches extend out almost 

 horizontally from the trunk, curving up a little toward 

 the ends. By its larger cones it is readily distinguished 

 from the white, red, and black spruces, all of which grow 



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