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margins. Fruit a curious, red, berry-like object, formed by 

 the disk becoming pulpy and cup-shaped, so as almost to cover 

 the hard seed ; % inch long. Small masses of the cut twigs 

 have a curious musky odor, very different from that of any 

 pther of our evergreens. The leaves remain upon the twigs 

 in drying. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE CONIFERS. 



The conifers as a whole are distinguished from the majority 

 of seed-bearing plants in that the seeds are borne on the face 

 of a scale rather than enclosed in an ovary. Our native 

 species belong to two families, the pine family, which in- 

 cludes all but one of them, and the yew family. The former 

 is characterized by cone-like fruits, while the latter is char- 

 acterized by its soft, berry-like fruit. 



The Pine Family (Pinacece). 



The Pines (Pinus). The pines are known by having the 

 leaves needle-shaped and in clusters of two to five, and by the 

 numerous woody cone scales. The three following species 

 are the most generally distributed native species : 



White Pine (Pinus Strobus) . Leaves long, five in a 

 sheath; cone long, with margins of cone scales smooth and 

 unarmed. 



Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida). Leaves long, three in a 

 sheath ; cone broad, with outer end of cone scale armed with 

 a pointed tooth. 



Red Pine (Pinus resinosa). Leaves long, two in a 

 sheath ; cones not long, oval conic ; margins smooth. 



The Larches (Larix}. 



The larches are characterized by having the leaves in dense 

 clusters on the ends of very short branches, the leaves falling 

 off late in autumn. Our native species : 



American Larch or Tamarack (Larix laricina)- Small, 

 short, pale green leaves, in dense clusters. Small branches, 

 not drooping. Cones persistent and erect on twigs. 



European Larch (Larix Europcea). Distinguished by 

 the drooping character of the branches. Commonly planted 

 for ornament. 



