218 THE HEMLOCK. 



tlie scales not claw-tipped, bark rather smootli, tree 50-8G 

 feet high ; both species native northward. 



P. 2ialustris, Long-leaved Pine, in the lowland forests of 

 the South, has leaves in 3s, and 10-15' long and cones of 

 nearly equal length. 



LVIII. THE HEMLOCK. 



Description. — The Hemlock grows in the forests of all 

 the States west to Oregon, especially loving a granitic soil ; 

 and in Canada and New England, the tree and its products 

 are so common that Hemlock is almost a household word. 

 Flowers and fruit (last year's cones) may be found in May.* 



Analysis. — Generic Characters. — The leaves are sol- 

 itary (not fascicled), short, of one kind, and persistent two 

 years. The trunks are of that class called excurrent — run- 

 ning distinct through to the summit of the pyramidal head. 

 Here also we have flowers of two kinds (monoecious), both ii? 

 aments, and on the same tree. Mark their situation, not on 

 the new shoots, as in the Pines, but on the branchlets of the 

 preceding year ; the $> aments in the axils of the upper leaves ; 

 the $ terminal. The cones mature in the Autumn of the 

 first year. Their scales are thin-edged, never embossed nor 

 clawed, each 2-seeded, and subtended by a bract. 



The Name given to the genus possessing these traits is 

 AUes — the ancient Latin for Spruce. It comprises the 

 Spruces, Eirs, and Hemlocks, evergreen, resinous trees, like 

 the Pines except in the above obvious distinctions. 



Specific Characters. — The Hemlock when young has a 

 peculiar grace both of form and foliage. With age, it 

 becomes rugged and unsightly. In forests, the trunk is 



* Specimens of our native Spruce or Fir, or of the Norway Spruce, so commor 

 in our parks and door-yards, will answer for this study. 



