Trees and How to Know Them [ 367 



mature in August, but they may remain on the trees as long as 

 twenty or thirty years! 



You will find the oldest cones at the base of the branches, 

 nearest the trunk. The straight mastlike trunks of spruces are 

 covered with bark of grayish brown or reddish brown tinged with 

 gray. The bark is scaly rather than furrowed. 



The Norway Spruce: While we have other important native 

 spruces, it is the one imported from Norway that you are most 

 likely to enjoy. The Norway spruce has been planted for forests, 

 as an ornamental tree, and for farm windbreaks in both the 

 northern and western states. The dark shiny needles, each with 

 tiny white lines, point upward and forward, but their bases 

 entirely surround the twig. They remain on the twig for six or 

 seven years. 



HEMLOCKS USEFUL AND ORNAMENTAL 



While we enjoy this magnificent tree for its appearance, it 

 is more than merely ornamental as far as many animals are con- 

 cerned. Its dense foliage furnishes valuable shelter for birds in 

 winter, and branches of young hemlocks drooping to the ground 

 form cozy hideouts for mice, rabbits, and other small creatures 

 during severe weather. And sometimes you may catch sight of 

 squirrels feasting on the seeds that develop in the cones. 



Though hemlocks grow to massive proportions, the cones of 

 the eastern hemlocks are among the smallest of all tree cones. 

 The largest are about three-quarters of an inch long. They mature 

 in one year and normally fall in the spring. The cones of the 

 western hemlocks are nearly twice the size of the eastern species. 



Three Centuries to Mature: When you look up at the foliage of a 

 hemlock, it appears whitish because the needles are light under- 

 neath. On top they are a rich dark green. Hemlock branches are 

 seldom broken by snow they droop to let it slide away. These 

 slow-growing trees require nearly three hundred years to reach 

 maturity, and often live more than twice that long. Countless 

 seeds are formed each year and sail away on tiny transparent 



