PINE FAMILY 



The cones of the Red Spruce are large and fall during the 

 first winter. Those of the Black Spruce are persistent for 

 many years. Resinous exudations both of Red and Black 

 Spruce are used as chewing gums ; and the branches of both 

 are used in the domestic manufacture of beer. 



Black Spruce is a tree of the far north existing but preca- 

 riously south of the northern border of the United States, 

 while the Red Spruce is an Appalachian tree attaining its 

 greatest dimensions in northern New Hampshire and Penn- 

 sylvania. 



BLACK SPRUCE. 



Plcea marictna. Plcea nlgra. 



An evergreen conical tree, maximum height one hundred feet, 

 ordinary height fifty to eighty ; at the extreme north it dwarfs to a 

 shrub. Branches slender, usually pendulous with upward curve 

 forming an open and irregular head. Prefers a hilly and mountain- 

 ous region with an altitude of 1,200 to 2,000 feet, but is also found 

 in low swampy valleys. Resinous. Roots thick, wide spreading 

 near the surface, rootlets long, flexible, tough. Ranges from New- 

 foundland to Hudson Bay and the Mackenzie River ; southward in 

 Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota. 



Bark. Covered with thin, appressed, grayish brown scales. 

 Branchlets at first pale green, pubescent, later they become cinna- 

 mon brown, finally dark brown. Bark has no commercial value. 



Wood. Pale, often with reddish tinge, sapwood pure white ; light, 

 soft, weak. Used for wood pulp and house building, sounding- 

 boards for pianos ; fuel value slight. Sp. gr., 0.5272 ; weight of cu. 

 ft., 32.86 Ibs. 



Winter Buds. Branch buds usually three, light reddish-brown, 

 ovate, one-eighth of an inch long. 



Leaves. Spirally disposed, thickly set and spreading in all direc- 

 tions ; jointed at the base to short, persistent, pubescent sterigmata 

 on which they are sessile ; falling away in drying, the bare twigs 

 appear covered with low truncate projections. Linear, one-fourth 

 to three-fourths of an inch long, four-sided ; ribbed above and 

 below, abruptly contracted at apex into a callous tip, slightly in- 

 curved above the middle. Pale blue green at first, dark bluish- 

 green at maturity, hoary on lower surface, lustrous or the upper 

 Persistent for several years. 



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