HEMLOCK 



{Tsuga canadensis Carr.) 

 TTHE hemlock, sometimes known as hemlock- 

 spruce or spruce-pine, is a large timber tree, 

 attaining a height of 60 to 100 feet and a diameter 

 of 2 to 4 feet. It is common along streams and on 

 cool slopes throughout the mountains. Its horizontal 

 or ascending branches and drooping twigs, forming 



One-half natural size. 



a pyramidal crown, make it one of our handsomest 

 and most desirable trees for shade and ornament. 



The leaves are from one-third to two-thirds of an 

 inch in length, oblong, dark green and lustrous on 

 the upper surface and whitish beneath, and, although 

 spirally arranged, appear to be 2-ranked on the 

 stem ; they fall during the third season. The cones 

 are oblong, about three-fourths of an inch long, light 

 brown in color. The cone scales are broadly ovate 

 and about as wide as they are long. The seed is 

 small and winged, maturing in the fall and dropping 

 during the winter. 



The wood is light, soft, not strong, brittle and 

 splintery. It is used for coarse lumber and for paper 

 pulp. The bark on old trunks is cinnamon-red or 

 dark gray and divided into narrow, rounded ridges, 

 and is one of our chief sources of tannin. 



The Carolina hemlock ( Tsuga caroUniana Eu- 

 gelm.) differs from the above by having its leaves 

 not conspicuously 2-ranked on the twigs but point- 

 ing in all directions, giving the tree a rough appear- 

 ance ; while the cone scales are narrow oval, muck 

 longer than they are wide. It grows on dry, roekj 

 ridges and cliffs along the Blue Ridge. It is a very 

 desirable tree for ornamental planting. 



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