Handbook of Trees of the Noktjieen States and Canada. 



31 



The Ilciiiloik is a liaiulsomc lice, soiiict lines 

 athiinin,!,' HMt It. in liriuht. witli Irnnk :!- t ft. 

 in (liaiiict.T \v>t.'.l in a .lark ri.l-rd i)ark. 



■ trci 

 idal 1 



icll.'-. 



.]) NV.tll 



:uid {\u- 

 V litrlit 



Wlii'ii -^nowin^' apart tiDin otli 



volops ii ratlicr ()|)cn wide |i\ rai 



outward eurviii-,' <>r drn(i|dn,u lir: 



Hat sprays of foiia^'c air par 



and graceful in appearance, of dark j;recii 



color ahove and sliowinj,' in ]iretty contrast 



the whitish under surfaces wliCTi turned up by 



the winds. The heauty is enhanced in early 



suninier by each liranrhlet Ixdn^' tijtped with 



the delicate lij;ht j,n-cen lu'w shoots of the 



season. It was once one of llie most abundant 



trees of the nortlieastern forest, but such is 



the value of its bark for tanning purposes that 



tliey have nearly all been destroyed, only 



scattering trees now remaining. It thrives on 



well-drained uplands and slopes of ravines 



usually in company with the White Pine, Red 



S]inice. .Maples, Beech. Yellow Birch, etc., 



though in places forming (piite exclusive tracts 



of forest. 



The wood is .soft, light (a cu. ft. weighing 



26.42 lbs.) brittle and mainly u.sed for coarse 



lumber for general construction purposes. 



The bark of the tree for tanning purposes has, 



until recent advances in prices of lumber, been 



considered its chief point of value.i 



Learrs flat, ol)long-linear, %-% in. long, 

 rounded at apex, lustrous and centrally grooved 

 ahove and whitish with ."» or C rows of stomata 

 on each side of midrib beneath ; branehlets rough 

 with their persistent bases. Floirvrs appear in 

 May: staminate light yellow; pistillate pinkish 

 green with broad laciniate liraets shorter than 

 their scales. Cones ovatt^-oblong. '■_>-% in. long, 

 acute with short stalk, snborhiciilar scales and 

 broad truncate laciniate l)racts : seeds about one- 

 sixteenth in. long and wings about twice as long, 

 broadest near the bases. - 



1. A. W., I, 21. 



2. For genus see p. 420. 



