402 APPENDIX 



bright, clear flame, but does not hold the fire. It crackles a great deal when burned 

 and throws out innumerable sparks. Trees that have been tapped last longer in the 

 ground than untapped timber. The tapping, however, slows up the increment. . . . 

 Tapped trees have less sapwood than those which have not been tapped, and the wood 

 is heavier, harder, richer in resin, more durable, and of greater fuel value. The method 

 of tapping maritime pine is described in detail in Chapter VII. 



By-Products. It yields turpentine paste, spirits of turpentine, colophony, rosin, 

 pitch, grease used for machine and axle lubricant, lamp black, fire lighters, basket ma- 

 terial, etc.; the needles are sometimes woven into a sort of cotton wool. A great many 

 mine props are exported annually. 



NORWAY SPRUCE 



(Picea excelsa) 



The Norway spruce is a tree of very large size, with a straight, cylindrical bole that 

 may reach up to 131 feet and more in height. Wessely asserts that in the Carpathian 

 Mountains some trees of this species are 223 feet high and 3.5 feet in diameter at breast 

 height. Its longevity is from 400 to 500 years. 



Habit. Spruce . . . has slender persistent branches . . . that form a 

 bushy, pyramidal, narrow, elongated, pointed non-truncated top up to the most ad- 

 vanced age. . . . Of all (European) forest species, spruce probably forms the 

 densest stands and yields the largest amount of wood. . . . Spruce can be readily 

 pruned and makes close and impenetrable hedges. 



Root System. Its root system is shallow, without a tap root, but with somewhat 

 slender laterals; consequently this tree cannot withstand wind pressure. The stump 

 yields on an average of 16.5 per cent of the total volume when cut flush with the ground; 

 14.7 per cent for the stump itself, and 1.8 per cent only for roots. (T. Hartig.) 



Seed. Seed crops are more intermittent and irregular than with pine, and, accord- 

 ing to the locality, are abundant only every 2 or 6 or even 8 years; normally seeding 

 begins at 30 years of age. If cones are sometimes seen on trees which have not reached 

 this age (chiefly in plantations), care should be taken not to gather them, for, almost 

 always, they only yield sterile seeds. The least heat is sufficient to cause the cones to 

 open and release the seed. . . . The abundance of seeds and the ease with which 

 they are extracted account for the low price. When fresh, with the wings on, they run 

 56,360 to the pound and 62,660 to the quart. Spruce seeds retain their germinating 

 vigor for from 3 to 4 years. If sown in the spring they will germinate after 4 or 5 

 weeks; they contain a non-siccative oil fat (instead of turpentine) and consequently 

 have a pleasant taste. 



The Seedling. The seedling . . . usually has nine cotyledons; within a year 

 it elongates its plumule into a young shoot with one to three very small laterals . . . 

 by the end of the first year the cotyledons have already dried up and the plant is from 

 2 to 3 inches in height. ... At 5 years of age it is, under good conditions, from 

 10 to 12 inches tall. 



Tolerance. With its shallow root system the spruce requires shelter during youth, 

 so that the surface of the ground, where it is planted, should not become dry; but it 

 requires light and has not the same vigor that pine has under partial cover; it dies out 

 rapidly under complete shade. If, in mixed spruce and pine forests, the soil often 

 reproduces to pine under spruce stands, no other reason need be given, other than the 

 ability of the pine to endure heavy shade where spruce could not exist. . . . The 

 tap root stops growing after the first year and produces numerous very slim laterals 

 that spread in all directions. . . . Spruce bark is reddish-brown in color. . . . 



